The mayor of Sincelejo claimed Sunday that armed men intimidated him during a meeting with Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella.
In a video message, Sincelejo Mayor Yahir Acuña said that armed men positioned themselves behind him while the president accused the mayor of corruption and threatened to pull municipal funds.
The accusations were partly published on the social media pages of the president, who accused Acuña of being “a person who, like you, faces 13 corruption charges, has a video in which he explains how to embezzle funds from the PAE, and, on top of that, is set to stand trial in the Supreme Court of Justice on charges of illicit enrichment.”
So let’s see what we do with Sincelejo, but I do not work under your scheme of corruption. And if you think you can continue engaging in those practices, know that someone has arrived who is going to prevent it and that I am going to concentrate on it. This money, mister mayor, I will take care of it, and to take care of it I have to keep it away from your control.
President Abelardo de la Espriella
In his response, Acuña claimed that De la Espriella’s video “has been edited and digitally manipulated.”
I ask you, please, to show the full video, where you can see how disciplinary and criminal codes are being violated in Colombia, where you can see how a mayor is being intimidated with rifles in the hands of civilians. How can a mayor be constantly flanked—for the entire duration of an event—by a person armed with a rifle, with the sole purpose of intimidating him?
Sincelejo Mayor Yahir Acuña
Investigative journalist Laura Ardila said on social media platform X that sources from the province confirmed Acuña’s allegations.
Sources from the department who were present say—fearing they might be named—that they left the scene terrified. They claim that Acuña was indeed surrounded by heavily armed men in civilian clothing, that the president’s office was recording the entire time, and that, based on details like these, they believe it was a scene staged in advance to go viral.
Journalist Laura Ardila
The mayor subsequently pointed out that the investigations into his alleged corruption existed before the presidential campaign, during which the De la Espriella campaign may have violated electoral laws, according to Acuña.
Among other things, the mayor said that he had been approached by De la Espriella’s parents to support the far-right president’s campaign and that local print shops may have received unreported campaign funds.
Since this needs to be clarified, mister President, it would be a good idea for the oversight agencies to investigate whether any printing shops in Sincelejo incurred campaign expenses that have not yet been reported to the National Electoral Council, whether there was campaign financing, and where that campaign financing came from, Mister President.
Sincelejo Mayor Yahir Acuña
The mayor also pointed out that two members of the De la Espriella administration are being investigated on corruption charges and that the president had ties to the now-defunct paramilitary organization AUC.
The president has repeatedly used corruption allegations to target political enemies.
