“Ella (Juliana Guerrero) arrived at the Transparency Office on the recommendation of Stalin Ballesteros, former director of Colombia Compra Eficiente, as a student leader from the Coast. She was given a service contract in the public policy team, but it was not renewed. And then she appeared in the government looking like a millionaire”.
The statement is from Andrés Idárraga, Secretary of Transparency of Gustavo Petro’s government, who in recent hours called for the justice system to act without delay after Semana magazine published an alleged influence peddling scheme involving the 24-year-old and her sister Verónica.
According to sources from Casa de Nariño, Idárraga himself warned President Gustavo Petro about the rumors surrounding alleged pressures attributed to the Guerrero sisters in the Ministries of the Interior and Dapre. However, weeks later she was nominated as a candidate for Deputy Minister of Youth. Some believe it was Casa de Nariño’s strategy to remove her from the path for not meeting requirements.
The contracts
Indeed, sources from Casa de Nariño confirmed that Ballesteros, a teacher, researcher, and former candidate for rector of the University of Magdalena – who ended up implicated in some audios about alleged job swaps with David Racero -, was the one who introduced the Guerreros in several power circles within petrismo.
In fact, EL TIEMPO investigated and established that Verónica Guerrero has at least two contracts with the entity Ballesteros led until 2024.
Verónica Guerrero’s contracts at Colombia Compra Eficiente date from October 2022 and February 2023 to support the management of the general direction of that entity in the development of activities related to administrative, logistical, and dissemination services on topics related to support services for public procurement.
Additionally, she has a contract with the Ministry of the Interior for more than 11 million pesos, in March 2023, with the purpose of providing her own means with full technical and administrative autonomy to the Directorate of Security, Citizen Coexistence, and Government. Also, for support service as a territorial liaison.
In fact, 4 days after Verónica Guerrero signed that contract, Juliana Guerrero signed one with the same value and purpose at the Ministry of the Interior.
Dapre and Minambiente
Juliana Guerrero also had a contract with the Ministry of Environment as stated in a declaration of assets, income, and conflicts of interest from April 2025, which she herself completed.
The document indicates that she earned a salary of 5 million pesos.
And in another declaration, she recorded a contract with Dapre in March 2025. According to Guerrero, she was paid a salary of 3 million pesos there.
In those same reports, she declared the contract with the Transparency Secretariat for 6 million pesos monthly. The declaration is from October 2022.
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Complaints indicate that the Guerrero sisters allegedly requested money from businessmen in exchange for managing projects before the Ministry of Housing.
One of the efforts would be related to an aqueduct project in the Cesar department. Apparently, the requested sums would supposedly correspond to a percentage of the contract values.
In the Ministry of the Interior, they reported that when Armando Benedetti arrived at that department, Juliana Guerrero was already in the entity and that what he did was promote her.
They also assured that her hiring was during Juan Fernando Cristo’s time.
EL TIEMPO contacted Cristo, who assured that when Juliana Guerrero was hired in that department, he was not in charge.
And he explained that there was a link when the Ministry of the Interior made an agreement with the Industrial University of Santander (UIS): “What the media say is that she participated in a UIS program of coexistence managers. That was contracted by the Deputy Minister for Social Dialogue. They were deployed throughout the country for consensus and dialogue when something exploded”.
What does Stalin say?
EL TIEMPO also called Stalin Ballesteros to ask why he recommended the Guerreros, and he assured that he met the Guerrero sisters within the framework of university mobilizations.
“Later, we shared workspaces during the campaigns for Congress and the Presidency of the Historic Pact in 2022. In that context, and trusting the situation they themselves expressed about threats against their lives in the territory. I shared their résumés in different public and private spaces, as they claimed to be displaced due to those threats. I fulfilled the Christian duty to help those in need,” Ballesteros said.
He added: “Verónica Guerrero had a contract with the National Public Procurement Agency – Colombia Compra Eficiente. Juliana Guerrero was never linked, neither laborally, contractually, nor in any other way with that entity during my leadership. My relationship with Verónica at that time was strictly within the framework of her contractual object. I never introduced her or Juliana to other officials or state entities. However, I deeply regret having trusted them”.
He also stated that “it would be insufficient to reduce everything that happened to a simple act of individual greed. If the complaints and investigations confirm that they used relationships, trust, and spaces obtained within a political project to improperly accumulate money, power, or influence, we would be facing a profound betrayal to those who extended a hand to them and, above all, to thousands of people who have worked to build a political alternative based on ethics and social transformation”.
Ballesteros concluded by saying that he has dedicated his life to social struggle for memory, education, and against paramilitary violence: “That is why I cannot lend myself to silences, cover-ups, or automatic defenses. Those who have committed crimes must answer to justice. But it is also necessary, while that is resolved, to politically reject these acts. Defending a political project does not mean protecting those who use it to enrich themselves or accumulate power. It means removing them, demanding explanations, and ensuring that no personal loyalty is ever above political ethics again”.
The Prosecutor’s Office has already assigned a unit from the Anti-Corruption Directorate to investigate the complaints about the alleged scheme.
The aim is to determine if there were behaviors with criminal relevance and the possible responsibilities that may arise.
In any case, Congresswoman Jennifer Pedraza has already filed a new complaint for influence peddling by a private individual, conspiracy to commit a crime, bribery for giving or offering, and illicit enrichment of private individuals.
According to Pedraza, the investigation cannot be limited to them but must investigate their alleged network of collaborators, the businessmen who allegedly gave money to obtain contracts, and the public servants who may have participated in this corruption structure.
Juliana Guerrero denies the allegations.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltiempo.com
@UinvestigativaET
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