Colombia: Cordoba Walks Away From Presidential Campaign

Congresswoman Piedad Cordoba responded favorably to the request made by the Historic Pact presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, who on Wednesday asked her to stay away from the current political campaign.

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"I ask Piedad Cordoba to suspend all her activities within the campaign until she can resolve, hopefully, favorably, the legal charges against her," Petro tweeted, referring to the preliminary investigations that the Supreme Court of Justice is carrying out on her activities.

In an open letter released on Thursday, the Historic Pact lawmaker confirmed to the Colombians her willingness to comply with Petro's request.

"I accept to suspend my activities within the presidential campaign. Nothing is further from my interest than being used as an excuse by the enemies of democracy to tarnish our imminent electoral victory," Cordoba said.

"I remain part of the Historical Pact. I am convinced that it is the option to get the country out of its current deep crisis. I invite all social sectors and citizens, who feel identified with my political trajectory and actions, to continue unwavering in support for the presidential binomial of Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez," she added.

On March 15, the legislator went before the directive instances of her political organization to clarify accusations published by local mainstream media, which accuse her of having talked with three extraditable prisoners, one of whom is her brother Alvaro.

Cordoba visited him in her capacity as a lawyer, recalling that "Alvaro is deprived of his liberty due to an entrapment action orchestrated by DEA agents to affect the Historic Pact's campaign, as Gustavo Petro himself has denounced."

"Alvaro is entitled to his presumption of innocence... for which I have supported him legally. This, however, does not imply any patronage agreement with drug lords to gain electoral support, or to offer unfulfillable promises," Cordoba said.

In an article published by Cambio magazine, she was also accused of having had contact with Alex Saab, a Bolivarian special envoy who is currently detained in the United States, where he is accused of money laundering operations.

This Colombian businessman, however, was arrested in Cape Verde while returning from a trip whose purpose was to obtain food and medicine for the Venezuelan people.