In October, President Gustavo Petro said that executives of the Israeli company NSO Group, creator of Pegasus, transported 11 million dollars by plane from the sale of the software. Photo: EFE
Washington, November 10 (RHC)-- In a story released in Washington regarding the scandal over the use of Pegasus spyware in Colombia, the Colombian ambassador to the United States said that he still has many doubts about the use of the program. He affirmed that he has asked U.S. authorities for information on the data collected during its use in the South American country.
After learning more information about the spy software, Ambassador Daniel García-Peña had a meeting with the director of National Security for Western Hemisphere affairs, Dan Erikson, to address the implications and clarify the role of Washington in the operation.
"We were very vehement in demanding total transparency and the publication of the information that could have been collected" during the time that Pegasus was operational, said Ambassador García-Peña.
Upon leaving the meeting, the Colombian diplomat said that U.S. officials confirmed to him that "American resources were used for the decision of the Pegasus software and that they were indeed done on the dates that have been reported."
The Colombian diplomat indicated that the White House claimed that the software was used to fight drug trafficking, but that the Biden government decided to suspend its use in the face of imminent dangers.
"We were assured that the software was never delivered to the Colombian authorities, but that it was the Colombian authorities who told them who they thought should be targeted by these interceptions," said Ambassador Daniel García-Peña.
He also said that there was supervision by U.S. authorities to supposedly ensure that it was only directed against people linked to drug trafficking. For their part, U.S. officials revealed that few security officials were aware of it and Washington did not inform President Duque about it or his successor Gustavo Petro.
The Colombian prosecutor's office opened an investigation last September into the purchase of the spy software, which, according to what Justice Minister Angela María Buitrago said on the social network X, "has to continue" until the conclusions are known.
In October, President Gustavo Petro said that executives of the Israeli company NSO Group, creator of Pegasus, transported 11 million dollars in cash by plane from the sale of the software.
"It seems suspicious and irregular to me that these payments are made in cash," said Ambassador Daniel García-Peña. They do it in cash "supposedly to avoid traceability of the resources, which makes it more suspicious."
An international scandal shakes Colombia after details were revealed about the acquisition of the spy software "Pegasus" during the government of former President Iván Duque.
According to an investigation by Señal Investigativa, the purchase was made clandestinely, involving the transportation of large sums of cash and possible legal irregularities in both Colombia and Israel.
