Fiscal loophole is due to not raising gasoline prices to international standards: Petro

At the most recent cabinet meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, August 19, President Gustavo Petro presented the country's security figures and, as usual, touched on various other topics, including the case of former President Álvaro Uribe and Palestine, among others.

The president said that crime has nothing to do with punishment , " it's that the judicial system is not related to revenge ." The president compared what happened in World War II with the security situation in Colombia, as he asserted that there is hatred towards different populations such as Jews, for example.

See more: Watch the Council of Ministers on August 19

Also, speaking about cybersecurity, he said that " the Peruvians hacked us to the core, because there is no cyber defense. The software should be ours, not purchased internationally, like Pegasus, from Israel. What is Pegasus? Mathematics to spy on citizens [...] When power enters the citizen's bed... goodbye to freedom! That's why I don't agree with (Gabriel) Boric, we cannot allow privacy to be crossed by the power of the powerful ."

See more: Bogotá Superior Court orders release of former President Álvaro Uribe

In the middle of his speech, the president even referred to the ruling of the Bogotá Superior Court, which ordered the immediate release of former President Álvaro Uribe , who was convicted by Judge Sandra Heredia in the first instance. In fact, he questioned how it was possible that former President Uribe was free while EPA (Colombia) was in prison.

" Uribe tried to deceive, because he got involved in the issue of witnesses against (Iván) Cepeda, and by attacking Cepeda, he jumped into it, and now he's blaming us for his mistake," Petro said. See more: Iván Cepeda says he will proceed "with what is pertinent" after the ruling that frees Uribe.

Likewise, during his speech, the president addressed the number of homicides occurring in Bogotá and stated that under Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán's administration, this figure is increasing exponentially . He also said that the mayor is not taking into account that El Dorado International Airport is a port through which cocaine trafficking moves.

On the fiscal gap

The president referred to the fiscal deficit in the country's finances, noting that this " is the payment of the budget to the gentlemen who use gasoline, not allowing the price of gasoline to rise above the international price level in times of COVID and the war in Ukraine. That money has to be returned, Minister, if Congress is not capable of taxing the richest of the richest in Colombia, the money from the gasoline subsidy is returned and we resolve the fiscal deficit, just as they did with electricity users ," but he said that energy users " are the entire population while gasoline users are only 15% ." See more: 2026 Budget: How much will the Government allocate for train and tertiary road works?

He also said that the economic recovery is thanks to the deficit, and that his government will be responsible, so they will close the fiscal deficit, he stated.

On the other hand, he presented the figures on "insecurity" in the country, and he also emphatically stated that he does not support civil society having weapons, since that monopoly should belong solely to the military forces.

Among the data presented, it was highlighted that 13,496 homicides were recorded in 2024, with a rate of 26 per 100,000 inhabitants; a lower number than those reported in 2023, when the figure was 13,555.

Analyzing the figures by city, the city that registered a significant decrease was Montería (Córdoba), which went from 62 homicides to 23, from the beginning of the year to August 18, comparing the data for 2024 with 2025. On the other hand, a notable increase was recorded in San José (Guaviare), where homicides increased from 6 to 21 during the same period.

Meanwhile, just after 11:30 p.m., the president said the country needs electric vehicles , not the gasoline-powered ones currently on sale. He also reiterated his fierce criticism of the sale of Colombian coal to Israel, which is at war in Gaza, and maintained that he will not be complicit in genocide. VALENTINA DELGADILLO ABELLO

Portfolio Journalist