Jiménez, 26, made the accusation two weeks ago, prompting the Attorney General's Office and the Inspector General to open investigations, and later repeated it before the Supreme Court of Justice. She said Petro offered contracts to her and more than 30 other women in exchange for intimate relations: "It's to satisfy his sexual needs." In the video she posted on Instagram on Tuesday, Petro's voice is heard, part of his face and part of hers can be seen, and the two share a kiss at the end. Jiménez gives no information about when the video was recorded, whether before, during or after Petro's presidency (2022-2026).
In the post, Jiménez said: "Today I'm posting this video as proof that I'm telling the truth." She added: "Colombians deserve to know who Gustavo Petro is. I trust in the justice system, and I ask that system and the government to ensure that nothing happens to me or my family. If anything does happen, I hold Petro responsible."
Petro responded on X that he never used "a government contract to obtain favors from anyone" and that the women who worked in his administration were hired based on their merits. He maintained that no expert or judge has examined the footage, that it is still unknown when it was taken or where it came from, and that there is "no corruption" in it. He said he will comply with the gag order issued by the judge presiding over the case and will defend himself "before the judges" rather than on social media. He also accused those circulating the video of creating a smokescreen to divert attention from a law reducing penalties for drug traffickers, which the government has just signed and which, he said, his attorney will challenge in court on Friday.
People close to Petro told EL PAÍS that the video shows a "consensual relationship" and does not prove "absolutely any of the accusations" made against the former president. They pointed instead to the possible legal liability of publishing an intimate video recorded without consent.
Earlier this week, Jiménez's attorney announced he was stepping down from the case after receiving threats. "I am stepping aside for safety reasons," he said. Her new attorney, Dina Luz Malo, said in a public letter that she will submit the video to the courts and that unidentified individuals photographed Jiménez on November 3. "My client has been the target of threats, which is why she is currently under a protection program," the letter states.
Petro did not deny knowing Jiménez when the allegations surfaced, but said categorically that he never offered public contracts. “I have never awarded a contract in exchange for sex. I would be sick to my stomach if I ever did something like that,” he wrote in a letter posted on social media. When he first addressed the scandal, a few days before Jiménez’s public accusation, he said: “The effort to expose my private life stems from the government of Abelardo de la Espriella, and money is involved.”
According to Jiménez's complaint, during Petro's administration she held contracts in the Senate with Senator María José Pizarro, a Petro supporter; at the Superintendency of Surveillance; and at the Ministry of the Interior. The official government contracts database, SECOP, has confirmed that ten of Jiménez's contracts appear in the system: seven with the Senate, two with the Subdirectorate of Projects for Security and Civic Coexistence at the Ministry of the Interior, and one with the Control Office of the Superintendency of Surveillance.
Carlos Ríos, head of the Administrative Department of the Office of the President, told lawmakers: "There were 48 women working for President Petro in the Office of the President whom he unfortunately exploited through OPS [orders to enter into service contracts]."