Colombia: Rodolfo Hernández’s yacht party causes controversy

Videos showing the Colombian presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernandez aboard a yacht in Miami enjoying a party became a new controversy a few hours before the start of the second round voting, in which Hernández competes with the leftist Gustavo Petro in a close election.

The recordings were published on Friday by the local media Cambio, but beyond the party, the complaint focuses on the possible presence of lobbyists supposedly interested in doing business in Colombia.

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Cambio assures in its report that a source, whose identity they do not reveal, indicated that “the expenses would have been covered by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer”, one of the providers of vaccines against COVID-19 of the government of Colombia.

After the publication of the videos, Pfizer rejected any participation in the organization of the party that would have happened on October 9, 2021 in Miami, including the presence of senior executives of the company.

“In relation to the alleged involvement of the company in the development and expenses associated with an event documented through a video… no person representing Pfizer attended, participated in or financed said situation”assured the pharmaceutical company in a statement.

Hernández, a real estate tycoon whose political flag is fighting corruption, gave a brief statement on Twitter in which he did not explain whether or not there were lobbyists at the party.

“It seems wrong to them that I am on vacation in Miami in 2021, but it does not seem wrong to them that Petro gets drunk and with tremendous drunkenness gets up on the platforms to speak to the voters, nor the “Petrovideos”, the pact of the pillory and his criminal strategy. They are desperate”indicated the candidate.

Another partygoer, Luis de la Hoz, told W Radio that once on the yacht “a person approached me and told me that he was a lobbyist and that he had represented the Pfizer company towards Colombia with the issue of COVID vaccines.”

According to de La Hoz, who did not specify who invited them or paid for the yacht, in October of last year they were together with Hernandez collecting signatures in Miami, a process that in Colombia It allows the registration of candidacies without the support of political parties, only of citizens.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.