The mistake that President Petro admits to making in his government: 'I have felt deceived'

This Wednesday, February 26 , new statements by President Gustavo Petro were made known in which he addressed crucial issues of his Government, including the mistakes he admits to having made, corruption in his inner circle, the 2026 elections , the future of relations with the United States and Colombia, and the current state of total peace.

His comments were made to Spanish newspaper El País in a nearly two-hour interview in which he admitted from the start that being president is "absolutely unhappy. It's a sacrifice."

The head of state referred to different topics, the first of which was the experiences and what he has learned in the last two and a half years that he has been in charge of the nation. In this regard, Petro indicated that these have been difficult times and that he has been isolated.

"The first thing they tried to destroy was my family. They wanted to destroy the emotional ties because a man without emotional ties becomes hard, bad, and makes mistakes. I isolated myself," said the president, and declared that the Casa de Nariño, his official residence, is a "bad French imitation" that he "doesn't like at all."

According to the president, the palace "must be full of ghosts. I want to bring an expert in these matters. Anyway, when people hug me, I feel recharged."

In his responses, President Petro also reflected on his administration and pointed out that one of his main mistakes has been "believing too much in the people around me" and "believing that I can make a revolution by governing, when that is done by the people."

On the latter, he said that he still believes that "a revolution must be made in Colombia," but that the decision of "when" it will happen will be up to the people.

Regarding the aforementioned error, the head of State spoke about two scandals that have tarnished his presidency. The first was the alleged financing of his campaign and the role that Diego Marín, alias Papá Pitufo, and Xavier Vendrell had tried to acquire in the matter.

At this point, he said of the Catalan politician that he is "a new foreigner who doesn't know what it's like. You have to live Colombia for the good and the bad. Vendrell was honest enough to tell us about it."

It should be remembered that on February 11, the director of the Protection Unit (UNP), Augusto Rodríguez, revealed the alleged participation of the alleged 'smuggling czar' in an attempt to inject 500 million pesos into Petro's presidential campaign.

According to the document, the money was rejected and the return was recorded on video to record the fact. Regarding the issue, the head of state emphasized in the interview that "this smuggler has been infiltrating campaigns for 38 years" and that he himself requested to return the money: "It was done. I don't know if anyone kept anything along the way. I asked to record a video returning the money and that video exists. I have seen it. At the time, I warned on Twitter that drug trafficking was trying to infiltrate my campaign and that no one other than the campaign manager could receive a peso."

He also referred to the corruption scandal involving his son, Nicolás Petro, who is being prosecuted by the courts for money laundering and illicit enrichment. "It is the result of a deep family problem. He made a mistake, no doubt. But they have punished him beyond what he committed to see if he comes against his father. I said that I would never speak about my son in my government, but the government is almost over, and I will speak," he said.

Regarding Nicolás Petro, he described him as "weak and that's how they destroyed him." However, he maintained that he would not get involved, since "he would do the same as other presidents who have committed crimes, and with evidence. The law must act and not overemphasize the crime. They do it so that he can confront his father out of pure instinct for self-preservation."

The president spoke about one of the candidates for the next elections in 2026, Vicky Dávila, and compared her to the president of Argentina, Javier Milei: "Vicky wants to be Milei. I can't get into how Peronism handled economic and social policy, but Argentine society got tired of them and voted for the worst that could exist. When history repeats itself, a comedy is built. Vicky wants to be Milei, but for that she needs my Government to be a disaster. And I don't see it."

Petro said that "I would not like a Milei in Colombia. Unlike Argentina, a Colombian Milei would bring a lot of blood on his back." The aforementioned media also questioned him about who could be the progressive candidate for the elections.

He said he hopes not to find a candidate, "but a front. There is no force that has a majority. A broad front is needed. I have names in mind, but I'm letting time pass."

During the conversation, Petro made it clear that there are marked differences within his cabinet that have complicated decision-making, even acknowledging that some ministers have had problems with other officials such as Armando Benedetti and Laura Sarabia.

Regarding the new Minister of the Interior, he explained that the criticisms from other members of the government are " lawfare". In addition, regarding the accusations against the official for gender violence and the pending judicial investigations, he pointed out: "Benedetti comes from traditional politics and there are questions in his traditional politics, accusations from the feminist side. His wife defends him. I know that there may be subordination, but a president cannot make decisions based on a "can", but on facts. (...) But not destroying people is giving them a second chance. The only firm judicial process against him is for influence peddling. If I look at everything around me, everyone is doing influence peddling. Everyone is trying to influence me."

Now, with Benedetti's arrival in the portfolio, there was talk of finding parliamentary majorities for the passage of health and labor reforms in Congress. The president specified: "We will try, but this time not about deception. I have felt deceived (...) An agreement is made with a political party, and then that party votes against it. I have been deceived about seven times. I am a deceived man."

On the other hand, regarding Laura Sarabia and her appointment to important positions during the Government, he stressed that the reason for choosing her is that in her work "she is a good organizer and a young woman." However, he stressed that "when you are young you have to mature and you have to know which wrong path does not lead you to mature. Now in the Foreign Ministry she has to know what is the voice of Colombia in the world."

The head of state continued to refer to issues of international policy, including the bilateral relationship with the United States and recalled the impasse with Donald Trump, which opened a crisis with the imposition of high tariffs on both sides after not allowing entry of a plane with deportees.

El País asked the president if he lost the "pulse" against the North American government, to which President Petro responded that "I never backed down" and asserted that "I never allowed nor will I allow Colombians to enter in handcuffs. Now we bring them in on our planes and we have almost reached a thousand Colombian migrants who have been returned. The United States has not given us a peso for gasoline. They are very stingy. But now they arrive without handcuffs, without chains. You draw your own conclusions. They do not bring me a single Colombian in handcuffs here, if it is an innocent person."

On the subject of "winning or not," the president said that he did not like that type of "battles. That is for arrogant people. I don't care. The migrant is not a criminal."

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