BOGOTÁ, May 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Prosecutors on Monday indicted Colombian President Gustavo Petro's former campaign manager on suspicion of exceeding the legal financing cap for the leftist leader's election campaign in 2022.

Ricardo Roa, who has been removed from his most recent role as the head of Colombia's state-owned oil company, defended his innocence on Monday.

Roa is accused of spending in excess of the authorized limits for the presidential election by around $445,000, in his capacity as a campaign manager.

The indictment is part of an ongoing investigations into Petro's 2022 election campaign, and comes less than three weeks before the first round of Colombia's May 31 presidential election.

Petro is banned from seeking a second term under Colombia's constitution.

Petro's eldest son Nicolas is also being prosecuted for illicit enrichment and money laundering.

Nicolas Petro is accused of taking money from a former drug trafficker while campaigning for his father in the 2022 race.