Colombian President Gustavo Petro alleged Tuesday that a sabotage attempt was made against him ahead of his recent meeting with President Donald Trump, claiming that a senior police official was ordered to plant “psychoactive substances” in his presidential vehicle.
Petro made the accusation during a marathon four-and-a-half-hour televised meeting of his council of ministers in Montería, in the northern department of Córdoba. He offered no evidence to support the claim.
“There is a general whom I ordered removed from the police force. Someone gave him the order to put psychoactive substances in my car, and his mission was to destroy the meeting with Trump in one way or another,” Petro said.
Petro traveled to Washington last week, where he met with President Trump at the White House. The meeting was widely described as cordial and marked a shift from Petro’s openly hostile rhetoric toward Trump throughout 2025.
“A path is born where different powers can meet. We didn’t hit or scratch each other; we looked for solutions,” Petro told reporters after the meeting.
Although Petro did not name the alleged conspirator, military sources told Caracol Radio that the person referenced was General Edwin Urrego Pedraza, who recently served as commander of the Cali City Police. Urrego has previously held several high-ranking posts, including head of Colombia’s criminal investigation directorate and commander of the Barranquilla Metropolitan Police.
Urrego forcefully denied the accusation in an interview with Blu Radio on Wednesday, calling Petro’s claims “madness” and “misinformation.”
“I have never committed any dishonest act that would affect my ethics or the honor of the institution,” Urrego said, adding that he had never even been physically near the presidential vehicle. He offered to undergo a polygraph test and pointed to his 32-year career, including vetting processes with U.S. agencies such as ICE and HSI.
He repeated his denial to Caracol Radio, stating that he had not received any formal notice of accusations and only learned of the claim through a video sent to him via WhatsApp.
“The information the president has received is completely inaccurate. To even consider taking such action would be contrary to democracy itself,” Urrego said. “No one has presented me with any evidence, and I don’t think there is any, because it didn’t happen.”
Urrego said he would take legal action to defend his reputation if the controversy leads to his removal or disciplinary proceedings.
“What the president has said has criminal implications,” he added. “I would have to clarify that situation before the highest authorities.”
Colombian magazine Semana reported Tuesday that police sources believe Petro was misinformed and that the alleged plot was fabricated as part of a retaliation campaign by drug-trafficking groups Urrego previously targeted in Barranquilla and Puerto Colombia.
According to those sources, an anonymous tip falsely accusing Urrego was sent to authorities and eventually reached the president. They claimed the effort was meant to damage Urrego’s standing because of investigations he led into corruption involving public officials, police officers, and powerful family clans.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president and a former member of the Marxist M-19 guerrilla group, has long advocated for the legalization of cocaine. Former officials from his own administration have accused him of suffering from unspecified drug addiction.
Petro will leave office in August 2026 at the end of his four-year term and is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election. Colombia is scheduled to hold its next presidential election on May 31, with a runoff on June 21 if no candidate wins an outright majority.
