Colombian President Gustavo Petro reiterated on Wednesday the corruption allegations against the former manager of the health promotion entity (EPS) Coosalud, Jaime Miguel González, despite the fine of 15 minimum wages imposed on him Tuesday by an administrative judge in Bogotá for failing to comply with the injunction requiring him to retract his accusations, which so far have not been supported by any evidence. “The former manager of Coosalud, Mr. González, is corrupt and the members of the Coosalud board of directors must be prosecuted by the Prosecutor’s Office, even if they are relatives of former presidents,” the head of state wrote on his X profile, in response to the news of his sanction.
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The fine was ordered by the 24th Administrative Court of Bogotá, signed by Judge Yimi Alejandro Sánchez, in a document issued this Tuesday. It explains that the president was in contempt of the injunction of November 11, 2025, and therefore will have to pay just over 26 million pesos.
Mr. former manager of Coosalud, Mr. González, is corrupt and the members of the Coosalud board of directors must be prosecuted by the Prosecutor’s Office, even if they are relatives of former presidents.
The forensic audit showed that indeed, as I said, a loan was guaranteed to… https://t.co/ShyZECFCEg
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) April 15, 2026
But the president insists, mentioning a forensic audit that, according to him, demonstrates improper handling of resources in the EPS, one of about twenty public and private institutions responsible for affiliating and insuring the health of Colombians. “Corrupt and health thieves are corrupt and thieves. They can ruin me with fines and jail if they want, as they did when I left the Mayor’s Office, but I will not be silent about the theft of health,” he added. He also urged Rafael Santos and Jaime Pastrana – brothers, respectively, of former Vice President Francisco Santos and former President Andrés Pastrana – members of the EPS board of directors, to answer for the “predatory” loan to Jaime Miguel González. “The judge did not read the forensic audit report made to Coosalud that proves me right,” Petro concluded in his message, which comes amid the president’s prolonged battle to fundamentally change Colombia’s health system and eliminate the EPS, or substantially reduce their role.
The president’s accusations began in December 2024, when the Health Superintendency denounced Coosalud for diverting resources to a company in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven, and for having created a scheme to pay with public funds a loan to the GNB Sudameris bank for 226 billion pesos (about 46 million dollars), as guarantor of another company, Coosalud Inversa. The then Health Superintendent, Giovanni Rubiano, stated: “The bank notified the default on the loan, activating acceleration clauses to recover the obligation (…) which resulted in the transfer of 226 billion pesos.” From there, the president’s accusations began, who has insisted on mentioning the family ties of some members of the EPS board of directors with political leaders opposed to his government. By then, the president had already made health system reform one of his major political bets.
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For that episode, that same month, Petro said, without evidence, that the members of the EPS board “refinanced” 200 billion pesos that should have been allocated to serve the affiliates. The seven accused sent a request for rectification for the allegations that the president had made against them “in an injurious and slanderous manner.” The EPS leadership added: “Ignorance and the eagerness to please the nominator have led the national Health Superintendent to make statements that are openly contrary to the truth.” The president maintained his positions: “I have nothing to retract. The irregularities of EPS Coosalud must be criminally investigated.”
This is the Coosalud board where 200 billion pesos were “refinanced” that the treasury gave to serve its affiliates. Judge for yourselves. pic.twitter.com/qfQ0MoV6jn
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) December 7, 2024
In mid-2025, in a presidential address, Petro reiterated his accusations and called González a “bandit.” At that time, he said: “They stole Coosalud’s money, which originates in Cartagena and is a real cooperative. Its owners, we have to do something, but they overthrew the owners because they were cooperativists, for making the mistake of appointing a man as manager who is a bandit.” Because of those accusations, the 24th administrative court of Bogotá upheld the order requiring the president to retract and publicly apologize to Jaime Miguel González. Almost three months later, and with a fine against him, the president remains firm, as does his intention to push forward a health reform that Congress has denied and that led him to break the majority coalition that supported his first months in office.
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