Two former ministers from President Gustavo Petro’s cabinet, ex-Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla and ex-Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco, have been ordered held after prosecutors accused them of leading a vote-buying and contract-steering scheme tied to Colombia’s disaster-management agency (UNGRD) and other state bodies. AP News says that this case — one of the most politically explosive corruption probes of Petro’s administration — has widened to include lawmakers and other senior officials.
Prosecutors say the pair orchestrated a criminal network that diverted public contracts to companies linked to members of Congress and political allies in exchange for legislative support on key government measures, including the pension reform.
The charges filed by the Attorney General’s Office include criminal association, bribery, and undue interest in contracting. If convicted on the most serious counts, Bonilla and Velasco could face decades behind bars — prosecutors have said the crimes carry penalties that could total up to around 27 years.
The allegations center on contracts awarded by the Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (UNGRD) and the national roads agency, INVÍAS, among others. Testimony from former officials — notably Olmedo Lopez, a former UNGRD director who became a cooperating witness — and a trove of intercepted communications and WhatsApp messages are cited by investigators as evidence tying the ex-ministers to the scheme.
Spanish outlet El Pais reports that prosecutors contend those contracts were used to reward congressional votes and political backing for the executive’s legislative agenda.
Corruption case rocks Colombia’s Petro government as former Ministers Bonilla and Velasco are jailed
On Dec. 1, the Attorney General’s Office formally requested pretrial detention measures, arguing that Bonilla and Velasco pose a risk to the integrity of the investigation and to public order.
Rather than standard prison cell detention, the prosecution asked the court to impose “prisión domiciliaria” — house arrest — for both former ministers as a preventive measure while the case proceeds. The request was later backed by the Office of the Procurator General, which told the court the measure was necessary to protect the criminal process.
Judges ultimately decided to place Bonilla and Velasco under detention measures while the investigation continues. Media reports indicate the authorities leaned toward home detention, a common preventive measure in high-profile corruption cases that allows defendants to remain under electronic monitoring at a private residence rather than in a conventional prison cell.
Home detention in Colombia is treated as a form of preventive detention until a final ruling is reached, and it can remain in force for the duration of the criminal process unless altered by a court. The precise length of the measure will depend on how long prosecutors take to complete their inquiry and whether prosecutors or defense lawyers successfully appeal the court’s ruling.
Petro says the case is ‘an attempt to destabilize’ his government
Both Bonilla and Velasco have publicly denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in their formal hearings. Their legal teams have moved to challenge the preventive measures and to contest the prosecutors’ interpretation of the evidence, arguing the accusations are politically motivated and that neither man sought personal enrichment.
President Petro, who appointed both men, has called the proceedings an attempt to destabilize his government, while insisting his administration respects the independence of the judiciary.
The scandal has already ensnared a number of prominent political figures: Former leaders of the Senate and House have been detained, and prosecutors have named several sitting and former members of Congress as beneficiaries of the alleged scheme.
The investigation has rattled Bogota and raised fresh questions about governance and oversight of public procurement in the Petro administration. Observers say the case could have significant political fallout depending on whether prosecutors secure convictions and on what the final sentences may be, Latinnews.com reports.
The next step is that prosecutors will continue gathering evidence and may press for formal charges and trial. If convicted on the full range of counts, the former ministers face heavy sentences that Colombian law treats according to each specific crime — for example, serious bribery and criminal association convictions can carry multi-year prison terms.
For now, both Bonilla and Velasco remain under judicial restriction (reported as home detention by multiple outlets) while the courts weigh the prosecution’s case.