Gustavo Petro claimed the messages were ‘edited words’ intended to manipulate public opinion.

On Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro denied the authenticity of alleged WhatsApp messages released by presidential hopeful Vicky Davila, which accused him of inappropriate behavior during a 2022 campaign party. Petro claimed the messages were “edited words” intended to manipulate public opinion.

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Davila asserted that she gained access to private conversations between the president’s son, Nicolas Petro, and his ex-wife, Daysuris Vasquez—a key witness in the legal case against Nicolas, who faces charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment.

According to Davila, the conversations—allegedly part of the Attorney General’s Office case file—describe “disorderly behavior” by Petro involving women and campaign donors. She also referred to a video that could allegedly damage Petro’s public image.

“There are no videos, friends. Only one that contains no images, just edited words. No transvestites, nor ‘all the rest,’” the Colombian president said, referencing a phrase from the alleged chats.

Petro described the incident as “a crude and horrifying attempt to confuse a party with a crime” and said it was an effort to obscure “the truth about the most serious crimes committed against humanity in Colombia.”

The president condemned “a new concept of vagabond journalism” and suggested the controversy was fueled by factions attempting to “impose templates” on the media and public institutions.

His remarks also appeared to indirectly reference former President Alvaro Uribe, who was sentenced last week to 12 years of house arrest. Petro referred to him as “the landowner” whose estate “has become a prison.”

“The reality of seeing a hacienda turned into a jail has driven so many people into mental intoxication,” Petro wrote.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Petro released a video, calling the images shared by Davila a “vile fabrication.” He claimed the conversations did not match the format generated by the forensic extraction performed by the Attorney General’s Office on his ex-wife’s phone, and said there were “alterations to dates and names.”

“The green name color in the images indicates the screenshot would have been taken from my phone, which is false, since the extracted device belonged to Daysuris,” said Nicolas Petro, adding that neither he nor Vasquez had saved each other’s contact with the names shown in the alleged screenshots.

Vicky Davila, 52, built a career as a journalist and led Semana magazine until 2023, when she resigned to enter politics. In June, she launched her signature-collection committee to run for president in 2026 as an independent right-wing candidate through her movement “Valientes.”

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Source: EFE

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