In the midst of the controversy over the use of espionage technologies, President Gustavo Petro has reaffirmed his accusations regarding the acquisition of Israeli software Pegasus during the mandate of Iván Duque. In recent statements, Petro stated that the previous government made two payments for the purchase of the controversial software, with a total amount that would reach 11 million dollars.
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According to Petro, one of the payments, valued at $5.5 million, was transported in cash to Israel on a plane, while the remaining amount was transferred through a Colombian banking entity. “Two payments were made for Pegasus. “One arrived by plane and in cash to Israel, and the other by bank transfer to the NSO account,” declared Petro in his X account.
These claims arise after an investigation published by Cambio magazine, which suggested that the cash payment could have been made in Bogotá, challenging the official version that maintained that all the money was sent directly to Israel. The investigation indicates that the cash was transported from Colombia by an NSO employee and subsequently deposited in a Swiss bank, a movement that has attracted the attention of authorities in several countries.
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Pegasus software in Colombia
istock
The situation has led Colombian authorities to open a new line of investigation into the origin of the money and how it was extracted from the state budget.. The complexity of the case lies in the supposed strategic design of these financial movements, which would seek to make it difficult for the authorities to track them.
This is not the first scandal surrounding Pegasus. In March, a report by the Israeli media Haaretz had already detailed the transactions between the Colombian government and NSO Group, stating that the purchase had been agreed in cash for a figure greater than $12 million. In this context, the credibility of testimonies and records has become crucial, especially in the face of former president Iván Duque’s denials.
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Gustavo Petro
Presidency of Colombia
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Duque has defended his management, ensuring that there are no records of the Pegasus purchase and that all transactions were properly documented. ““The Ministry of Defense and the Police Intelligence Directorate have confirmed that there are no records of said purchase in the SECOP or in the reserved expenses.”he stated in a statement.
PORTFOLIO
