Former Colombian president accused of exploiting dozens of women for presidential parties

Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been accused of trapping and exploiting 48 women for presidential parties, with officials alleging they were hired "just to be with President Petro."Carlos Andrés Ríos, director of Colombia’s Administrative Department of the Presidency (DAPRE), claimed Petro oversaw a system that used service contracts to "systematically" control and weaponize the women, channeling public salaries in exchange for intimate relationships."We are going to prove to the Colombian people how the Casa de Nariño was unfortunately set up, organized, and tailored for something completely different — not to govern, but to party there every single day, bring in women," Rios said during a congressional hearing last week.COLOMBIAN LAWMAKERS SEEK SUSPENSION OF TRUMP FOE GUSTAVO PETRO OVER ALLEGED MEDDLING IN UPCOMING ELECTIONFormer President Gustavo Petro rejected claims that women were hired to attend presidential parties and provide sexual favors.(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)Petro issued a statement Sunday denying that he had used his public office to obtain sex."I have never given out a contract in exchange for sexual relations.

I would vomit on myself if I ever did such a thing," Petro said in a post on X.He argued that while his office provided state-funded aid programs for vulnerable women, he claimed that it is fundamentally different from giving contracts to individuals in exchange for sexual favors.TRUMP-BACKED 'EL TIGRE' LOOKS TO CRUSH CARTELS, END COLOMBIA'S SOCIALIST ERA IN PIVOTAL ELECTIONThe Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace, is seen in Bogotá, Colombia, on Dec.17, 2025.

(Nathalia Angarita/Bloomberg via Getty Images)"Helping poor women, female heads of households, and those engaged in sex work so that they have different life options — as I have demonstrated in public administration through concrete and funded programs — is something very different from giving out contracts in exchange for sexual relations.No pers...