Deadly FAC Crash, Zuluaga Ensnared in Odebrecht, Benedetti Back in Venezuela: Colombia Business News Recap 2 July 2023

It’s been a quiet week in Lake Guatavita as vacation season arrives in Colombia. Laborers receive an extra paycheck mandated by law, and June sees three national holidays during the month, plus one at the beginning of July. Congress is out of session, and many are on vacation.

• Colombian Air Force training crash leaves one dead, Lieutenant Colonel Mario Andrés Espinosa Gonzales. An investigation is underway.
• After being cashiered by President Petro, his former campaign manager and Ambassador to Venezuela Armando Benedetti returns to his post, despite the ongoing scandal involving him and former Chief of Staff Laura Sanabria. For background, see this article: https://www.financecolombia.com/fast-moving-colombian-scandal-may-threaten-the-presidency-of-gustavo-petro/
• Colombian prosecutors are charging former campaign aspirant and Alvaro Uribe acolyte Ivan Zuluaga and his son with receiving over $1.6 million USD in illegal campaign money from Odebrecht. The Brazilian Lava Hato scandal continues to ensnare culprits throughout The Americas even years after it launched. For more details see this article: https://www.financecolombia.com/oscar-zuluaga-charged-with-fraud-in-campaign-finance-fallout-from-odebrecht-scandal/ and for background on when the Odebrecht scandal reached the campaign of former President Juan Manuel Santos who defeated Zuluaga, see https://www.financecolombia.com/colombian-president-santos-apologizes-for-odebrecht-campaign-fund/

Moment Colombian Air Force Super Tucano suffers fatal incident (video may be disturbing):

Momento exacto en el que dos aeronaves colisionan mientras realizaban un entrenamiento en ejercicio en Villavicencio pic.twitter.com/L8Q6FOLns6

— Mely Múnera (@MelyMunera) July 1, 2023