Colombian President Cheating On Wife? Viral Video With Trans Woman Resurfaces Amid Tariff War With US

The Trump administration began its tariff war with Colombia after the South American country refused to accept two military aircraft full of migrants that were being deported under his massive immigration crackdown.

US President Donald Trump, seething after Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s refusal to accept immigrants, vowed to impose a 25% tariff on Colombian products. Colombia also responded with a 25% tariff on US goods, marking the first tariff war in his administration.

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However, Petro has other problems as well. Amid the spat with Trump, an old scandal involving the Colombian President emerged, where he was accused of cheating on his wife with a transgender woman, although Petro had denied the rumours.

Gustavo Petro’s Alleged Affair
A video went viral showing what appeared to be Petro walking hand-in-hand with transsexual newscaster Linda Yepes during a visit to Panama, leading to charges of infidelity. Notably, Petro has been married to philanthropist Veronica Alcocer and has neither acknowledged nor disputed that he is the man in the video.

There is also a photo which shows Petro taking pictures of Yepes as she poses for him in a strapless blue dress, according to the Daily Mail. The video sparked strong reactions from all walks of life in traditionally conservative Colombia, where 70% of the population identify themselves as Catholic.

The outraged Colombian public not only accused Petro of infidelity, but also of squandering public funds. “Your sexual orientation is irrelevant, but the use of public resources to finance your adventures would be of interest to us all,” one social media user said.

In a post on X, Petro responded to the outrage by saying he was not gay and accused “right-wing, deeply exclusionary, ignorant and discriminatory society” of spreading transphobia. “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 said.

“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 added.

Yepes, Colombia’s first transgender TV presenter, said she received death threats since the video emerged. Petro’s wife has remained mum on the images that exploded on social media last year.

The controversy came as the left-leaning Colombian President was already mired in trouble, being the target of many demonstrations since assuming office in 2022 amid growing public discontent against his reform plan. To make matters worse, Petro’s own brother and son are facing charges of corruption.

In this regard, Petro’s proposal to amend Colombia’s constitution in order to push forward with social reforms that were delayed due to a hostile congress and conservative business groups has only made his problems worse. Critics worry that this action would jeopardise the balance of democracy.

Colombia’s U-Turn On Trump’s Tariffs
In a U-turn within hours of Donald Trump threatening to impose sanctions, Colombia made an abrupt U-turn after initially retaliating with its own tariffs, and agreed to accept “all terms” of the US President for the deportation of immigrants from the South American country, the White House said.

“The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay,” The White House Press Secretary statement said on Sunday, marking a victory for Trump.

Consequently, the US said it will not impose sanctions and tariffs on Colombia after the South American nation agreed to accept deported migrants from the United States, unless the country “fails to honour” the agreement.