[Audio] Iván Cepeda says Petro's video is a distractor

Senator Iván Cepeda defended his counterpart Gustavo Petro, about the controversy around a video in which he receives a large sum of money. The images were presented by Senator Paloma Valencia as part of the Congress debate to Nestor Humberto Martinez, currently Attorney General of the Nation, for his alleged knowledge of the irregularities committed by the Brazilian multinational Odebrecht in Colombia.

"The intimidation continues against @petrogustavo: he is first accused of receiving dirty money by a video made 14 years ago, then it is forbidden to answer the Senate, denying the right to reply. " These are sordid methods that @CeDemocratico is used to political debate, "said Cepeda on his Twitter account, who then spoke to LA FM.

Read also: When Simón Vélez, mentioned by Gustavo Petro, said that there was no policy without money

"It is clear that the purpose of this accusation, which could have been formulated in another session or at the end of the debate, was precisely generate a diversion situation, to generate a smokescreen in relation to the charges and the serious arguments that have been advanced about the prosecutor's responsibility Néstor Humberto Martínez in the episode of the hiring of Odebrecht, it is a serious debate, but which was finally followed by the methods used by the board of the Senate, "Cepeda added.

According to Cepeda, in the case of Gustavo Petro, he has the right to defend himself and recalled that there is a presumption of innocence in Colombia. "It will be the authorities that will make the decisions on this," he said. Regarding the material seen in the video, Cepeda said that he would not put his hands on fire for Abelardo de la Espriella, the lawyer who said to have sensitive information about these imagesat the same time, he is convinced that Petro did not commit any crime.

"The demonstration that this episode should distract attention, is that we are discussing Petro's video and not the prosecutor's behavior," Cepeda said.

Read also: Whose money is Petro? the versions around the controversial video

Listen to the senator Iván Cepeda