Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the Police Intelligence Directorate (Dipol) acquired software from an Israeli company intended to spy on mobile phones during the social unrest in 2021 and in the period leading up to the presidential elections.
News Colombia.
In a 15-minute speech, President Gustavo Petro denounced how, according to the evidence he has, the Pegasus intelligence program, acquired during the government of Iván Duque, was allegedly used for espionage activities.
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In his televised speech on Wednesday, which Colombians expected to focus on the national strike of transporters, President Gustavo Petro chose not to focus on the crisis caused by the blockades due to the increase in diesel prices.
Pegasus
Instead, he addressed the issue of the Pegasus spyware, an issue that had already been revealed in March 2024 by journalist Gur Megiddo of the Israeli daily Haaretz.
According to the head of state, 11 million dollars in cash were taken from the National Police Directorate for the acquisition of the software.
In a new statement, President Petro denounced that the administration of former President Iván Duque acquired, through the National Police Directorate, Israeli software to carry out espionage activities and illegal interceptions.
The president said that the information revealed comes from data collected by the Financial Information and Analysis Unit (UIAF), currently headed by Luis Eduardo Llinás Chica.
According to the president, this information came to his attention last August and demonstrates actions against him during the presidential campaign.
He also mentioned that he was making the information public in the name of truth and because the country does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. “In July-August 2021, before the campaigns, an Israeli bank reported irregular activity: $5.5 billion in cash in a company account.
What is the amount?
This payment was related to a $11 million deal signed between NSO and the Colombian Police Intelligence Directorate (DIPOL) for the acquisition of Pegasus.
DIPOL purchased this software to spy on mobile phones during the social unrest and before the campaigns.
The money was transported by air from Bogotá to Tel Aviv on June 27, 2021, declared at Israeli customs and deposited into the company’s account on June 30, 2021,” Petro explained.
Faced with this situation, the president raised several questions about the transaction, which has generated more doubts than answers:
“How is it possible that $11 million in cash left the country on planes from government offices to Israel for the purchase of software that spies on private communications and phones, possibly of politicians, for months, from the main opposition party that eventually became the dominant political force?
Who else was intercepted? With what judicial authorization?
Other questions the president asks himself
“Where did that money come from? Why was it not included in the National Budget or in the transaction records? Are we facing a case of money laundering by the State itself to interfere in whose communications?” the president asked.
Petro also demanded a thorough investigation into the purchase.
Investigation
“I have asked the director of the UIAF to deliver this information to the Attorney General of the Nation and I have asked General William Salamanca, director of the National Police, to locate the software, inside or outside the DIPOL, so that citizens can be certain that their constitutional rights are respected.
The investigation must be led by the Prosecutor’s Office, through a forensic audit, so that the truth is clarified. And we will get to that point,” concluded the head of State.
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