Second Colombia minister claims cellphone hacked with Pegasus spyware
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Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said in December that Pegasus spyware – a tool made by Israel – had been found on his phone.
PHOTO: AFP
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- Justice Minister Andres Idarraga claims his phone was hacked with Pegasus spyware while investigating alleged collusion between officials and FARC dissidents.
- Idarraga suspects the spying, which targeted him and his family, was ordered from within the defence ministry, using state counter-espionage structures.
- The incident follows previous scandals involving Colombian intelligence services accused of sharing information with guerillas, and earlier criticism by President Petro regarding Pegasus use.
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BOGOTA – A minister in Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s Cabinet said on Jan 13 that his phone was hacked with Pegasus spyware, linking it to his investigation into suspected collusion between senior officials and left-wing guerillas.
Justice Minister Andres Idarraga told Colombia’s W radio that his phone was tapped using the Israeli spyware between August and November 2025.
At the time, he said, he was investigating links between high-ranking members of the military and dissident members of the defunct FARC rebel army that opposed a 2016 peace deal with the state.
Mr Idarraga said the spying targeted him and his family and had been ordered “from within the defence ministry, using state counter-espionage structures to pursue those investigating corruption”.
He said that after noting suspicious activity on his phone, he had it examined by a cybersecurity group, which confirmed it had been hacked with Pegasus.
In December, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said private investigators had also found Pegasus planted on his phone.
Colombia’s intelligence services have been mired in scandal since November, when Caracol news network revealed that an army general and a senior intelligence official had shared sensitive information with a guerilla leader.
General Juan Manuel Huertas and National Intelligence Directorate official Wilmar Mejia were suspended over the revelations.
The allegations against them were based on intelligence gleaned from phones and other devices seized in July 2024 from a rebel leader who goes by the alias Calarca and fellow FARC dissidents.
Mr Petro in 2024 criticised the purchase by the police of the Israel-made Pegasus spyware during the presidency of his right-wing predecessor, Mr Ivan Duque.
The malware, which can seize control of a phone’s microphone or camera and access documents, hit global headlines when a leak in 2021
Mr Petro said the police used it to spy on political leaders and activists.
The United States later admitted that it had financed Colombia’s purchase of Pegasus
