Verónica Alcocer responded to the scandal of the suitcases with money and weapons to Venezuela, as denounced by Eva Ferrer: "I only went with a purse."

Verónica Alcocer, former First Lady of Colombia and ex-wife of Gustavo Petro, commented on the serious accusations launched by Eva Ferrer, Catalan advisor, against her, assuring that her statements are completely false and denying having maintained an intimate friendship or transported suitcases with money from Venezuela. In an interview granted to Noticias RCN director, José Manuel Acevedo, Alcocer directly addressed the distancing with the former Presidential Councilor for Reconciliation, pointing out that the allegations respond to unfulfilled personal interests. PUBLICITY When questioned about whether Ferrer was someone she fully trusted or a close friend, Alcocer denied that version and specified that the relationship between them remained strictly professional. “Eva Ferrer was not a person I trusted. She was a close person and she gave me some peace because we had common friends. Eva's relationship with me was professional,” stated the former First Lady when explaining the origin of the bond. Alcocer detailed that she hosted Ferrer in her home to work on a women's empowerment project, but assured that her ex-advisor began to voluntarily get involved in the political meetings held at her residence during the election. PUBLICITY “The people who come to me, perhaps with many personal interests and, since they are not fulfilled, end up disappointed, end up feeling betrayed by things that were never offered, by things that were never said. I was not the candidate, I could not dispose of or make any kind of offer,” she added. One of the central points of the questioning towards Alcocer was Eva Ferrer's statements, which alleged that the former First Lady had returned from a trip to Venezuela in January 2023 with about 2.5 million dollars in cash intended to finance political campaigns in the government's circle. PUBLICITY In response to this version, Alcocer flatly denied the existence of said money and indicated that the official agenda fulfilled in the neighboring country did not require the transport of luggage: “I have never had 2.5 million dollars in my life. It is false. Moreover, Mr. Manel Grau (her friend, also Catalan), in public statements, has just denied that claim. What he says is: he never told Eva Ferrer about that situation. It was a round trip. So much so that no suitcases were taken, precisely because it was a short trip. There were no suitcases on that trip. I arrived with my handbag, which is how I always travel, and I returned with the same handbag.” Likewise, she denied the existence of a network of contacts that used her name to request appointments or positions in public agencies such as Ecopetrol, ProColombia or the Colombian Institute of Family Well-being (Icbf), as well as the existence of the so-called group of 'Los Verónicos'. PUBLICITY “I had no part in the appointment of public officials. The fact that there are close or known people linked by the Government has nothing to do with Verónica's decision. I never authorized anyone to speak on my behalf, nor to request contracts, nor to request positions. The person who made decisions to hire, to disassociate, to change, was the President of the Republic,” she emphasized during the interview. Alcocer asserted that the allegations related to her trips to Venezuela, the positions others point to her having, and other accusations can be verified through official records, such as public agendas and itineraries, as well as other documents that were kept at the time. PUBLICITY Alcocer spoke about her controversial visits to prisons, the Ofac list, and the negotiation of Gripen jets. In relation to her social activities and interventions in detention centers, from which the theory of a 'Pact of La Picota 2.0' began to consolidate, which arose in the Petro government, Alcocer explained that her displacements were carried out as part of humanitarian agendas without irregular privileges. “I went to the prisons because I loved to listen and give an opportunity, to give a hand. I went to anoint the prisoners, because the gift of anointing exists. It was always documented under the law, with all the requirements requested by the Inpec. For me, it is not a job to serve and help people,” she recounted about her supposed social work in the penal system. PUBLICITY Regarding the acquisition of the Swedish Gripen fighter jet fleet, the operation was questioned during the Gustavo Petro government due to its high cost and, especially, because Stockholm was the city where Alcocer spent her last months of government, after her separation from the mandate holder. “I learned that there had been a negotiation between the Colombian State and the Swedish State on the day they tried to involve me in that fact. I never participated in a conversation that had as its objective the purchase of those planes. I had no idea that it had happened,” she said during the conversation. About her inclusion in the United States' Ofac list, better known as the Clinton list, along with other members of the presidential circle, such as Gustavo Petro, Nicolás Petro Burgos, the former Minister of the Interior Armando Benedetti, among others, Alcocer confirmed that she formally requested the independent review of her name before the North American authorities. PUBLICITY “They immediately told me yes, that they were resuming my case, that they were receiving the case and are in the process of review. My case is independent of Gustavo's. They link me directly, but collaterally because I am Gustavo Petro's wife. I am sure that the truth will come out,” she indicated. The divorce agreement and the current relationship with Gustavo Petro At the end of the conversation, Alcocer shared details of her sentimental life and confirmed that she formalized the divorce from former President Gustavo Petro, with whom she was married for more than two decades. Although the sentimental separation between them would have occurred years ago, the former president stated in October 2025 that the relationship had ended much earlier, without specifying an exact date. However, the former First Lady revealed when the divorce was legally finalized. PUBLICITY “Look, our marriage ends on August 10, 2026. We have a cordial relationship. I fought for my relationship, I fought to maintain a family, unity, the children, but finally the marriage ended. Now I live from the divorce agreement we reached by mutual agreement and in peaceful terms.” She also expressed that she maintains a respectful line of communication with the former mandate holder for the well-being of the couple's children (Sofía and Antonella), concluding that she will attend to any request from the judicial authorities to defend her name. PUBLICITY