Colombia’s justice minister said that evidence suggests that the Defense Ministry used Israeli spyware Pegasus to hack his phone in the second half of last year.
In a post on social media platform X, acting Justice Minister Andres Idarraga said that his phone was hacked while he was investigating corruption in the military as President Gustavo Petro’s anti-corruption czar.
The infiltration was allegedly ordered by the Ministry of Defense, using confidential funds and state counterintelligence structures (from the Army) to persecute those conducting investigations into corruption.
Justice Minister Andres Idarraga
“They were mounting a smear campaign against me because of the information I had been receiving about various cases of corruption (of all levels and types) within the military,” said Idarraga.
According to the minister, forensic investigators found that spies took over his phone more than 8,700 times and downloaded 2.3 gigabytes of data, including classified corruption complaints.
“On 124 occasions they illegally activated my camera and microphone,” Idarraga said.
In a response, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said that his ministry would support criminal investigations into the alleged spy scandal implicating military intelligence.
“To this end, I chaired a Joint Intelligence Board meeting at which clear guidelines were issued to support the investigations and ensure the safety of the acting Minister of Justice,” said Sanchez.
I contacted the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Comptroller’s Office, providing them with all the necessary information and institutional resources in order to facilitate the course of the investigations and allow for the prompt clarification of the facts.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez
According to the defense minister, none of the military’s intelligence and counterintelligence units are authorized to intercept communication equipment.
The administration of President Gustavo Petro has been particularly sensitive about spying after Israeli and Colombian media reported on the sale of Pegasus to Colombia’s National Police in 2021.
Investigations into the purchase of Pegasus revealed that the software never formally entered the system. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the payment was made with dollars that had been seized in counternarcotics operations.
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