Petro Scandal: Sarabia Linked to Dian Nominations & ‘Papá Pitufo’

A widening scandal involving alleged influence peddling within Colombia’s tax and customs authority has now reached the highest levels of government, implicating President Gustavo Petro’s administration. The case, already involving 65 current and former members of Congress facing scrutiny from the Supreme Court, centers on accusations of political interference in staffing decisions.

At the heart of the new allegations is Laura Sarabia, currently Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, who reportedly inquired about the appointment of an individual with a questionable background. According to sources close to the investigation, the position in question was directly ordered by President Petro.

The details emerged from testimony given to the Supreme Court by Luis Carlos Reyes, the former director of the Dian (Colombia’s tax and customs authority) and ex-Minister of Commerce. Reyes’s statements have triggered a new wave of scrutiny within the government.

Reyes alleged that Sarabia, while serving as Petro’s chief of staff and director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (Dapre), provided him with the resume of a candidate allegedly linked to Diego Marín Buitrago, known as “Papá Pitufo,” a fugitive wanted by prosecutors on smuggling charges and subject to an extradition request.

Reyes provided the court with evidence supporting his claims, responding to a request for documentation issued on August 28th. The evidence reportedly leaves little room for doubt.

According to Reyes, Sarabia requested information regarding the appointment of Gladys Reina Villavicencio to a key position within the Dian in Buenaventura, a major port city and critical hub for combating smuggling. The court requested that Reyes provide evidence of email correspondence sent to Sarabia regarding Villavicencio’s alleged ties to smuggling and John Freddy Restrepo, a candidate backed by Representative Olga Lucía Velásquez.

Evidence presented to the court includes a chat log showing Sarabia directly requesting the appointment of Villavicencio for the Dian position in Buenaventura, considered one of the most important roles within the agency due to its strategic location.

Reyes informed the court that he alerted Sarabia to serious concerns surrounding Villavicencio’s background. Sarabia reportedly simply thanked him for the information.

In a brief email, Reyes attached supporting documentation, noting that it had been sent via WhatsApp.

The exchange reveals Sarabia asking on April 15, 2022, “Has the appointment been made?” Reyes immediately responded with confirmation of the appointment through a Dian resolution, stating, “I have signed the resolution, which is being numbered and communicated.”

Reyes subsequently warned Sarabia about allegations against Villavicencio, but she reportedly acknowledged the information with a simple thank you.

Reyes shared the evidence with the court via WhatsApp, providing screenshots of the exchange.

The allegations center on a report sent to presidencia.gov.co, labeled as a “Corruption Report on Gladys Reina Villavicencio, verifiable information, with American intelligence agents,” detailing concerns about the candidate, allegedly at the direction of the President.

“This report denounces Dian official Gladys Reina Villavicencio, stationed in Buenaventura, for all the bribes she has received in the port of Buenaventura related to smuggling,” the report states.

The report further alleges that Villavicencio’s primary benefactor was Diego Marín Buitrago, alias “Papá Pitufo,” the alleged “smuggling czar.” It calls for investigations by relevant authorities.

The report also references another Dian official allegedly receiving payments through family members in Los Angeles, United States. However, details are being withheld to avoid hindering the ongoing investigation.

The report further claims that illicit funds were paid directly to Villavicencio’s family members, facilitated by “Papá Pitufo,” and that financial records in the United States could verify these transactions.

Sarabia responded to inquiries, stating, “As you can see in the chat, I asked the then-director of the Dian, while I was director of Dapre, about an appointment that he knew was an instruction from President Petro. I don’t know what the interest was; I was simply fulfilling my function of executing an order from President Petro.”

Regarding the allegations against Villavicencio and the possibility that this information was overlooked, Sarabia explained, “I did not omit anything, I provided the information, as any report reaching the Presidency would be forwarded to the Transparency Secretariat. Obviously, the President was also informed of these reports at the time. It was not my role to investigate, as I am not the Prosecutor’s Office or the Transparency Secretariat. I did what I was supposed to do, which is to verify an appointment at the instruction of my boss, President Gustavo Petro.”

When asked if it was common for President Petro to make such requests, she stated that it was not, but in this case, “it was a specific matter concerning the Dian. If the President asks about an appointment, a decree, or an instruction, the proper course of action is to ask the relevant person; that’s what I did, as did Angie Rodríguez and Mauricio Lizcano.”

Extensive testimony and statements provided by former Minister Reyes to the Supreme Court suggest that President Petro may have directly pushed for Villavicencio’s appointment to the Dian. In this scenario, Sarabia would have been following orders from above, potentially involving Carlos Ramón González, currently a fugitive seeking asylum in Nicaragua following accusations of involvement in the alleged embezzlement of funds from the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).

This timeline coincides with Sarabia’s transition to the Foreign Ministry and González’s assumption of a key role as Petro’s chief of staff within the Dapre.

In his testimony, Reyes partially exonerated Sarabia, stating that the order for the appointment came directly from President Petro.

The court is investigating whether Ramón Davesa, a Catalan man known for allegedly recording a video of himself receiving 500 million pesos from “Papá Pitufo” during the presidential campaign, was also involved. The circumstances surrounding the alleged return of the funds remain unclear.

Reyes also told the court that President Petro is a distrustful man who has people infiltrated in different institutions. In the case of Buenaventura, according to the former minister, the infiltrator was Ramón Davesa, who allegedly recommended bringing in Gladys Reina for the position.

Reyes clarified that a request from a member of Congress was different from a direct request from President Petro, which had to be followed immediately and caused friction within the Casa de Nariño.

Even within the government, there were differing opinions regarding Villavicencio. Reyes stated that former Defense Minister Iván Velásquez advised against her appointment. However, Petro reportedly insisted, claiming she was an enemy of Diego Marín Buitrago, “Papá Pitufo,” but Velásquez countered that their animosity stemmed from their involvement in rival smuggling groups.

Reyes also clarified that upon his arrival at the Dian, President Petro explicitly stated that he did not want to receive recommendations, saying, “I don’t send resumes.” This is why he found it unusual that the request came through Sarabia, assigning the order to President Petro.

Another revealing detail emerged: Reyes told the Supreme Court that he asked President Petro via chat if the order to hire Villavicencio came from him, and the President confirmed it. This practice began in February 2024, when Petro started sending recommendations through intermediaries, but Reyes asserted that he always verified them.

Why did Sarabia request the appointment? Reyes explained to the court that Carlos Ramón (González) had indicated he was not delaying the process. Reyes concluded that Sarabia served as the conduit in this process, and that President Petro reprimanded her, leading her to demand the appointment.

There is still much to uncover in this story. The involvement of a man named John Freddy Restrepo, who was recommended by several individuals, raised concerns for Reyes. After clarifying that investigations found no irregularities regarding Gladys Reina, Reyes asked her to name a candidate to lead a key division in the fight against smuggling. She chose Restrepo, a Dian union leader.

Restrepo had strong backing: Representative Olga Lucía Velásquez of the Green Alliance party, a known supporter of Petro, also recommended him. The strongest endorsement came from Juan Fernando Petro, the President’s brother, who, along with lawyer César Valencia, a close friend of “Papá Pitufo,” delivered Restrepo’s resume to Luis Carlos Reyes.

Restrepo stated, “I don’t need recommendations because they know me well at the Dian. I don’t know that man, Papá Pitufo, I don’t know why they recommended me, I can’t control that. How can someone recommend me who doesn’t know me? I don’t know.” He acknowledged knowing Juan Fernando Petro from the presidential campaign.

Representative Velásquez vehemently denied the allegations: “I have never sent a resume to former Minister Luis Carlos Reyes or anyone at the Dian. I have been working for many years, my life has been public since 1999. I can take a polygraph and prove that I am telling the truth.” César Valencia, who admits to his friendship with “Papá Pitufo,” also provided explanations in an interview.

“Juan Fernando was invited by the Sintradián collective to the director Reyes’s office. He proposed to socialize the tax reform in the most friendly way possible (…) then stated that it would be important for seized goods to be donated to foundations, and the meeting ended. Reyes has said that Juan Fernando handed him a resume. I don’t know about that,” he said.

This latest chapter in the scandal involving influence peddling, recommendations, and the parade of resumes denounced by former Dian director Luis Carlos Reyes also involves high-ranking government officials, as revealed in a report published on September 6th.

The report included chat logs with bureaucratic requests sent by current Interior Minister Armando Benedetti; future diplomat Pastor Alfredo Saade; former Senate President and presidential candidate Efraín Cepeda; and former Legal Secretary to the Presidential Palace, now Constitutional Court Justice, Vladimir Fernández. The main protagonist, however, remains Roy Barreras.