THE son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been arrested for money laundering and illicit enrichment by the country's attorney general.
Nicolas Petro, a
politician in Atlantico province, was detained over allegations he was paid by
drug traffickers to fund his father's peace efforts and election campaign.
He has denied the claims
and welcomed the inquiry when it was launched.
The younger Mr Petro's
ex-wife has also been arrested as part of the probe.
President Petro, the
country's first left-wing leader, has denied taking money from Colombia's drug
traffickers and ordered prosecutors to investigate his son in March.
Writing
on social media on Saturday, he said it was painful for one of his children to be sent to
prison, but also that he would not interfere with the investigation.
"To my son I wish
luck and strength. May these occurrences forge his character and may he reflect
about his own errors," Petro said.
The attorney general's
office said the allegations against Nicolas related to illegal contributions
diverted from his father's election campaign last year.
Nicolas and his former
wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vásquez, are being transferred from the Caribbean
coast to Colombia's capital Bogotá.
Ms Vásquez has
previously alleged in local media that her former husband was given large
amounts of money by drug cartels last year, during the political campaign that
led to Gustavo Petro's victory in the presidential election.
Around 450,000 people
are believed to have been killed as a result of 60 years of internal conflict
in Colombia.
President Petro vowed to
secure peace or surrender in deals with both Colombia's notorious armed rebel
groups and drug cartels as part of his campaign - efforts which have seen
intermittent success over his first year in office.
A negotiated ceasefire is set to begin with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group in August, but talks with major crime gang the Clan del Golfo have failed because of ongoing violence.