Colombia Intelligence Agency Scandal: Alleged Espionage and Contract Irregularities Under Petro Government
Intelligence Procurement Under Scrutiny
Colombia’s Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia faces a multi-agency inquiry into alleged surveillance operations and $20,783 million in questioned procurement contracts under Gustavo Petro’s administration, El Tiempo reported on November 10, 2026.
An internal 26-page briefing leaked in November 2026 detailed a suspected plan to place tracking devices and microphones on vehicles assigned to former presidents and vice presidents. The Contraloría General de la República announced fiscal oversight procedures on November 9, 2026, targeting five specific agency agreements.
Contested Contracts and Audit Targets
State auditors are reviewing acquisitions that include a drone valued at approximately $9,000 million and three anti-drone systems costing $8,340 million. The drone suffered four simultaneous technical failures in August 2025. Investigators are also examining a $1,314 million computer purchase from 2024, a $580 million biometric identification system from 2022, and $1,549 million in office furnishings for agency facilities in Funza.
Contralor General Jorge Eliécer Laverde stated that the statutory secrecy surrounding intelligence activities does not exempt procurement from fiscal oversight, emphasizing that public investments must meet demonstrated operational needs.
The Arrest of Carlos Oyola
Judicial authorities detained Carlos Andrés Oyola Tovar, a 36-year-old systems engineer and agency contractor, on November 6, 2026, in Neiva. An arrest warrant had been active since May 2026.
Prosecutors presented evidence before a judge detailing over 40 alterations to academic records and financial statements at the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, involving roughly 35 million pesos in tuition adjustments. Investigators allege Oyola operated as a central node linking internal system operators with beneficiaries.
Before his assignment at the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia, Oyola held a consulting contract with the Fondo Colombia en Paz to provide IT security support for crop substitution programs. Financial records from Fiduprevisora show he received 14 payments totaling 213,726,973.67 pesos between February 2023 and March 2024 before requesting the termination of that agreement.
Camargo Denies Meetings While Officials Call for Agency Liquidation
Fiscal Luz Adriana Camargo negó reunión con Carlos Oyola, asegurando que nunca se ha reunido con él y que tampoco lo conoce, según El Tiempo.
A representative called for the complete liquidation of both the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia and the Unidad Nacional de Protección. Conversely, former senator and former presidential candidate Paloma Valencia cautioned that changing a structure is not enough, arguing that responsibilities must be clarified, counterintelligence strengthened, and personnel selection, training and controls verified.
Company Links and Lack of Professionalization Trigger Scrutiny
Mundial de Bienes Logística y Servicios SAS is the company linked to the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia, which contracted Programar Televisión S.A. on February 26, 2024. Juan Pablo Estrada stated that the prior administration saw an absence of professionalization in the Unidad de Información y Análisis Financiero and the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia.
Daniela Gómez referred to the actions of state intelligence and stated that it is urgent for a progressive sector to request the exit of Gustavo Petro as head of the opposition. Juan Pablo Estrada also mentioned the controversy surrounding Char, who faced accusations from Aida Merlano.
Carlos Oyola was contracted as an advisor in information systems and computer security to the director of substitution of illicit use crops, with monthly fees of $16,029,523. Records from the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia state that Oyola completed his systems engineering coursework on June 6, 2019, and graduated on October 8, 2021.
Intelligence reports revealed by Noticias Caracol indicated that Oyola was also accused of evading a prosecutor’s raid and leading a hacker network within the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia that coordinated attacks against the Registraduría during the electoral period, though he did not accept charges for alleged grade alterations.
The prosecutor explained to the judge that discrepancies were found in 41 courses between campus virtual records and administrative grade tables regarding student grades, in addition to changes in tuition payment statements.
147 terabytes of data under chain of custody were scheduled to be delivered to the Fiscalía. A report sent to the Presidency stated that since 2024 the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia has lacked a platform to register its missions because the contract with the provider was not renewed.
An intelligence report also noted suspicions that Russia supplied malware-equipped devices to agents trained in Moscow, recommending a forensic review of all equipment.