Less than a week before Gustavo Petro’s government ends, a new episode puts the woman he separated from during his term, but who continues to act as first lady, Verónica Alcocer, at the center of controversy. Semana magazine released a series of audios attributed to Eva Ferrer Galcerán, who for years was one of Alcocer’s most trusted people and who served, at the beginning of the government, as presidential advisor for Childhood and Reconciliation. In the recordings sent to a person whose identity is unknown, she describes an ostentatious life of someone who was a key figure in Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign and talks about serious acts of corruption, use of front men, and irregular handling of resources in her close circle.
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In the recordings, Ferrer recounts that her friendship with Alcocer ended amid claims for money that, she says, was owed to her from the campaign. The woman, of Spanish citizenship, harshly describes the closest circle of the first lady. One of the most concrete allegations concerns the financing of the presidential campaign, as she relates that two million euros (more than 8 billion pesos at the time) were mobilized and delivered to the first lady through a Catalan businessman identified as Manel Grau, who now, according to the former official, closely accompanies Alcocer in her life in Europe.
Ferrer also referred to Alcocer’s lifestyle. “Her expenses are like 50,000 euros monthly,” is heard in one of the audios, an amount equivalent to more than 180 million pesos and which is a very high sum in any European country. In the audios, Ferrer claims that the first lady would have received payments for managing meetings and official agendas on behalf of the government.
The former official also talks about an alleged network of front men. According to her words, Alcocer would have several cousins involved — one of them would have directly threatened her — and an Italian man, whom she describes as an intermediary of loans that are never repaid.
The former presidential advisor mentions Carolina Plata, a contractor in charge of organizing presidential events and close to Alcocer, for the alleged handling of cash “kept in boxes and bags.” In one of the recordings, she suggests that Ricardo Roa, the outgoing president of Ecopetrol and manager of Petro’s presidential campaign, secured his position at the head of the country’s largest company through a “gesture of closeness” towards the first lady. Additionally, she pointed out a shortage of budget items in the Advisory for Reconciliation — which she led — before her departure, as well as alleged irregularities in hiring.
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The scandal does not arise in isolation. Months ago, the Swedish newspaper Expressen documented Alcocer’s luxurious lifestyle in Stockholm and pointed out her alleged closeness to businessmen and private clubs in that city. At that time, Petro defended her and denied any misuse of public funds, attributing the criticisms to a smear campaign. Alcocer, from a conservative family of the political and economic elite of the Caribbean city of Sincelejo, is a cousin of former senator Mario Fernánfez Alcocer.
After Semana’s revelation, former Petro minister Mauricio Lizcano, who also led the Administrative Department of the Presidency at the beginning of the leftist government and is mentioned by Ferrer in the recordings, reacted. In them, she narrates that the Caldas politician was “claimed” for money from the presidential inauguration that he never delivered. In an interview with La FM, the former presidential candidate called the audios “regrettable” and said that authorities must verify their authenticity and the scope of the accusations. He also denied having known of irregularities during his time in government and explained that the relationship between Ferrer and Alcocer was already very deteriorated in the first months of the administration.
For its part, the opposition has already announced legal measures. Óscar Villamizar and Jonathan Pineda, congressmen from the Democratic Center — the right-wing party led by former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez — announced they will file a criminal complaint against Alcocer for alleged influence peddling and embezzlement as an intervening party. President Petro, traveling in Cuba, has not commented on the accusations that tarnish the image of the mother of two of his children.