Colombia: Ruling-party candidate to file criminal complaint against ex-President Pastrana over Epstein files

Cepeda said he would submit a complaint “so that the possible criminal conduct he may have engaged in can be investigated,” arguing that the disclosures warrant judicial scrutiny in Colombia

Senator Iván Cepeda, the presidential candidate of Colombia’s ruling Pacto Histórico coalition, said he will file a criminal complaint against former President Andrés Pastrana (1998–2002) after Pastrana’s name appeared in newly declassified records linked to Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in the United States for her role in the trafficking scheme.

In a statement posted on X on Monday, Cepeda said he would submit a complaint “so that the possible criminal conduct he may have engaged in can be investigated,” arguing that the disclosures warrant judicial scrutiny in Colombia.

The newly surfaced material includes references to Pastrana in dozens of files, among them email exchanges from 2003 and 2004 with Maxwell and mentions of meetings and travel arrangements. One message thread discusses logistical details for a New York trip and reception arrangements. Cepeda has framed the issue as more than a political controversy, calling for authorities to determine whether the contacts reflected in the files carry legal consequences and whether any actions involved improper use of official resources or non-institutional arrangements.

Pastrana has acknowledged that he flew on Epstein’s plane but maintains that, at the time, Epstein was not widely known as a sex offender and was seen publicly as a well-connected financier. In recent days, Pastrana also announced legal action after being mentioned in commentary about the Epstein material, disputing insinuations about his name and requesting clarifications on specific claims.

The senator is pressing prosecutors to establish a factual record: what the contacts were, what they were for, and whether any prosecutable conduct occurred. The case also underscores how fresh disclosures from U.S.-based investigations can reverberate across borders, triggering domestic legal and political responses.

Cepeda has not yet specified which criminal offenses his filing will cite, nor how broadly he will ask investigators to examine the disclosed communications.