Is Colombian Prez Petro having affair with transgender woman? Old video claims

An old video has resurfaced online accusing Colombian President Gustavo Petro is cheating on his wife with a transgender woman. The purported video came after US President Donald Trump threatened to take action against Colombia for not allowing two US military planes carrying migrants to be deported.

Petro had denied the rumours of having an affair.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The viral video showed Petro walking with transgender newscaster Linda Yepes while holding hands during their Panama trip. The video posted on the social media platform X showed the duo laughing and talking while walking on the road. It was posted with the caption, "Colombia's president is having an affair with a trans (male) model."

Petro, who is married to philanthropist Veronica Alcocer, had not rejected that he is the man in the clip.

A photo further showed Petro clicking pictures of Yepes while she posed in a blue strapless dress, the DailyMail reported.

Other than accusing him of cheating on his wife, people in Colombia accused their president of wasting public money.

An X user wrote, “Your sexual orientation is irrelevant, but the use of public resources to finance your adventures would be of interest to us all."

Another reacted to the video and asked, “Colombia's president embroiled in scandal. What's the political fallout from this alleged affair?”

“Why do MAGA folks care so much about who consenting adults are sleeping with? If everyone is of age and consenting, why do you care? So bizarre,” one X user further wrote.

In response to an outcry last year on his alleged affair with Yepes, Petro claimed via a post on X that he is not gay.

“I am heterosexual, but you will never hear or read a transphobic word from me. Because not only would he cease to be a man, but a human being," he had written.

Siempre he considerado que la intimidad es la "última ratio" de la libertad, la última trinchera del ser libre, y conservaré este principio hasta que escriba de mi mismo o muera.

Pero estos miles de mensajes transfóbicos que han estallado en manos de una sociedad de derechas,… https://t.co/o94OztkGpA

"I have always considered that privacy is the ‘last ratio’ of freedom, the last trench of being free, and I will maintain this principle until I write about myself or die,” he further added in a post in July 2024.

Who is Linda Yepes?

Linda Yepes is the first transgender TV host in Colombia. She claimed that since the footage has surfaced online, she is receiving death threats.

(With inputs from agencies)