Colombia's police intelligence purchased Israeli spyware in secret: Petro [View all]

Pegagus software allegedly used to spy on Petro's 2022 campaign
by Adriaan Alsema September 5, 2024


Colombia’s police paid Israeli defense firm NSO $11 million in cash for the controversial spyware program Pegagus, said President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday.

The president accused the administration of his predecessor, former President Ivan Duque, of using the software to spy on Petro’s 2022 campaign.

According to Petro, this payment was confirmed by Israel’s financial intelligence unit IMPA in a classified report sent to its Colombian counterpart UIAF.

In a televised address, the president read the report out loud, despite the fact that the IMPA had stressed that “the contents of this report are highly sensitive and may not be disseminated outside of UIAF without prior written consent.”

Petro decided to ignore the caveat because “I am the President of the Republic” and “at this moment I don’t obey to diplomatic relations with Israel because of the Gaza case.”

According to the document, Israel’s largest bank, Hapoalim, reported that a representative of Colombia’s police intelligence directorate DIPOL had deposited $5.5 million in cash in the NSO account on June 27.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-police-intelligence-paid-for-israeli-spyware-in-cash-petro/