Bogotá, September 2025. – Colombia’s Office of the Inspector General (Procuraduría General de la Nación) has received a citizen petition calling for an investigation into several state entities accused of using official social media accounts to disseminate political messages in support of President Gustavo Petro. Among the institutions named is Coljuegos, the national gambling regulator, whose recent posts have sparked criticism.
According to a report published by Semana on September 19, 2025, citizen Hernán Cortés filed the request, arguing that official accounts—rather than limiting themselves to institutional or regulatory updates—had amplified political slogans and government narratives.
On June 21, Coljuegos’ official Facebook account posted an image of a public rally with the caption: “Ganamos Colombia – #ElTrabajoDignoEsLey” (“We won Colombia – #DecentWorkIsLaw”). On Instagram, critics highlighted posts showing President Petro’s image alongside slogans such as “The silence is over – The health system was looted. There will be no forgiveness or forgetting,” tagged with #SeRobaronLaSalud (“They stole the health system”).
These posts have fueled questions from watchdogs and citizens about whether Coljuegos has crossed the line between institutional communication and political propaganda. Under Colombian law, public funds and state entities must remain neutral in political matters, except during formal accountability processes.
The controversy is not new. In August, media outlets reported that Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Coljuegos, openly participated in a popular consultation promoted by President Petro. That episode raised alarms about the blurred boundaries between Coljuegos’ institutional role and partisan politics.
Now, the decision lies with the Procuraduría, which must determine whether Coljuegos and other agencies engaged in conduct contrary to legal provisions prohibiting the use of official resources for political ends. The investigation could set a critical precedent for how state institutions communicate in the age of social media.
