He was soaked from trying too hard to justify. Upset by America’s accusations of links to drug trafficking, Colombian President Gustavo Petro decided to make all his bank statements public. But most people see the spending as a visit to a strip club in 2023. The documents reveal a $50 payment to a strip club in Lisbon during an official trip in May 2023, which sparked outrage from women’s rights organizations.
“How is it possible that we have a sexual exploitation crisis in Colombia and at the same time have a president who frequents such places?», asked Sara Jaramillo, from the Medellin Abolitionist Network which campaigns for the elimination of sex work which is considered a form of exploitation.
“There are two things I’ve learned in life: not to sleep with women I don’t feel anything for, and not to pay for sex while I’m still capable of flirting,” replied the manager at X. This response only added to the anger on social networks.
A Colombian court previously ordered President Petro to apologize for his “stigmatizing” comments against women after he called critical journalists “mafia puppets”.
Gustavo Petro added in X that he would explain “someday” why he was at a strip club in Portugal. “For now, what I want is that everyone who checks my account can see the abuses committed against Colombia,” the president added, referring to the United States sanctions.
Longtime allies Washington and Bogota’s diplomatic relations have deteriorated since Donald Trump took office for a second term in January. The US President accused Gustavo Petro of being a “drug lord” without evidence and decertified Colombia as an ally in the fight against drug trafficking. The Colombian leader and his relatives are also subject to financial sanctions from the US Treasury Department.
