Mayor of Medellín is suspended for alleged political intervention in favour of Petro

The authority that sanctions officials in Colombia suspended the mayor of Medellín from his position on Tuesday, while investigating his alleged violation of the rule that prevents him from intervening in the campaign for the presidential elections on May 29.

The Attorney General's Office temporarily removed President Daniel Quintero from his duties, after the release of a video in which he sends an implicit message of support to left-wing senator Gustavo Petro, a favourite in the polls.

I have ordered "the opening of a disciplinary investigation and the provisional suspension" of Daniel Quintero and three other politicians "for the alleged and repeated intervention in political activities and controversies," said the head of the entity, Margarita Cabello, in a public statement.

A person in charge of the agency said that in principle the sanction will be for three months.

The Colombian Constitution prohibits officials, including the military, from intervening in electoral activities.

"No public servant can use the position to participate in the activities of political parties and movements," emphasised Cabello.

Quintero, 41, published a video on Monday in which he appears behind the wheel of a vehicle saying "the change, in first," in a play on words that are associated with Petro's eventual first-round victory.

The mayor reacted to the suspension by denouncing that he "has started the coup in Colombia."