Two New Scandals Threaten Petro’s Final Weeks in Colombia
As Gustavo Petro’s term in Colombia draws to a close, new scandals involving alleged corruption have become a fresh source of pressure on the presidency, with two figures who until recently were very close to the president at the center of the controversy.
The allegations involve Angie Rodriguez, the former director of Colombia’s Administrative Department of the Presidency (DAPRE) and current head of the Adaptation Fund, as well as Juliana Guerrero, a close government adviser who is now facing accusations over alleged irregularities related to her academic credentials and her alleged influence in facilitating criminal conduct within the administration.
Both cases have escalated in recent days amid a growing exchange of accusations between government officials and the president himself. After what she described as attempts to discredit her following her quiet exit from DAPRE, Rodriguez claimed she uncovered a network of alleged administrative and contracting irregularities.
Petro, in turn, responded to those allegations by ordering her removal from the Adaptation Fund, questioning her credibility, and even making public references to her mental health, sparking a new political and ethical controversy just days before the change of administration.
Two new scandals threaten Petro’s final weeks in Colombia
Angie Rodriguez, who until just a few months ago was considered one of President Petro’s most trusted officials, publicly stated that she uncovered alleged irregularities within the government involving the management of public funds and the influence of individuals who, according to her, exercised power without holding official positions.
The latest episode emerged after the government moved to transfer more than 1.2 trillion Colombian pesos (approximately US$375 million) from the Adaptation Fund to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) amid the state of emergency declared over the threat of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Rodriguez said those funds had already been earmarked for strategic flood-control projects in La Mojana, in Colombia’s Caribbean region, and that she was never invited to the technical meetings where the transfer was discussed. According to her account, the Fund sent warnings to several oversight agencies because it believed the procedure could amount to an alleged abuse of authority, improper justification, and the unlawful issuance of an administrative act.
In addition to questioning that budget decision, Rodriguez reiterated allegations she had made months earlier about an alleged influence network operating within the government. She claimed that several decisions involving appointments, contracts, and personnel changes were being driven by Juliana Guerrero — the central figure in the other alleged corruption case now engulfing the administration — even though Guerrero did not hold a public office with the formal authority to issue instructions.
Rodriguez also reported receiving threats against her safety and publicly held several current and former government officials responsible for anything that might happen to her. As a result, President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella called for protection measures, describing her as someone who could become a key witness in future investigations.
Rodriguez’s allegations prompted the Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation into Juliana Guerrero for alleged corruption, which comes on top of a previous case in which she is accused of procedural fraud and forgery of a public document for allegedly falsifying her academic credentials.
Petro responds by questioning her mental health
While De la Espriella called on the government to provide protection for Angie Rodriguez, her statements prompted an immediate response from outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who instructed the finance minister to remove the head of the Adaptation Fund from office, describing her as “incompetent.”
The president also published documents related to a medical leave Rodriguez received following a psychiatric evaluation and publicly questioned why she had returned to her duties shortly afterward.
In a series of controversial posts, Petro claimed that the former DAPRE director — a senior position Rodriguez held until last January — was manipulative and suggested that news organizations failed to properly vet the people they interviewed, referring to her medical condition.
“Angie is a great manipulator who sees public service as a means of personal gain, and I regret ever having known her,” the outgoing president wrote Friday morning on his X account.
The president’s references to a government official’s mental health drew criticism from multiple sectors over his use of medical information during a political dispute.
Rodriguez rejected Petro’s claims and insisted that her allegations are supported by official documents and communications submitted to multiple Colombian government agencies.
No entiendo una prensa que no averigua a quien entrevista y le faltan el respeto incluso como paciente.
Angie es una gran manipuladora que ve la función pública en beneficio propio y que lamento haber conocido.
Pero aquí se muestra la perversión de la prensa tradicional, que… pic.twitter.com/YAvoWTixg5
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) July 27, 2026
Juliana Guerrero and the investigations against her
The second source of controversy centers on Juliana Guerrero, a 22-year-old woman who gained influence during Gustavo Petro’s administration and whose name has become linked to an alleged corruption case.
Guerrero — who is not a career public official — built much of her professional trajectory within the executive branch through political appointments, where she performed advisory and institutional representation duties after becoming close to Petro during his 2022 presidential campaign.
With no academic credentials beyond a high school diploma, Guerrero’s first scandal stemmed from alleged irregularities involving her educational qualifications. She is accused of falsifying a university degree, information she reportedly submitted to obtain positions within the government.
In fact, Guerrero held several official positions during the Petro administration. Between November 2022 and January 2023, she served as executive secretary at the Administrative Department of the Presidency (DAPRE).
Between March and August 2023, she worked as a territorial liaison at the Interior Ministry, and between November 2023 and February 2024, she served as a community relations manager at the Industrial University of Santander.
Her name was even considered for the position of deputy minister of Youth at the Ministry of Equality, but the controversy surrounding her academic credentials halted the appointment.
While that case remains pending before the Attorney General’s Office, Juliana Guerrero — along with her sister Veronica — has once again come under public scrutiny following revelations by Semana magazine accusing her of allegedly accepting bribes totaling 600 million Colombian pesos (approximately US$188,000) to oversee a network of public contracts in the Cesar department.
In that context — and in a direct connection to the previous case — Angie Rodriguez claims that Guerrero wielded far greater influence than her official duties would have allowed. According to Rodriguez, Guerrero intervened in decisions involving public contracts, appointments, and administrative management across several government agencies, acting as someone with decisive authority despite holding no position that granted her those powers.
For her part, Juliana Guerrero insists she has never met with businesspeople or government contractors to engage in unlawful activities. She also maintains that she has never received money or any other benefit in exchange for influencing public contracts.
“I have never received money, commissions, or any other financial benefit related to alleged dealings with the public sector. I categorically reject any claim suggesting otherwise, as well as anyone who uses my name to engage in such conduct,” she said.
According to Guerrero, the allegations are part of what she describes as “unfair accusations,” and she emphasized that she has not held any position within the government for more than a year.
