The Catalan Manel Grau, 54 years old, assures that his presence in Caracas, on January 31, 2025, in the midst of the dictatorship and in the company of the then first lady Verónica Alcocer, It was due to his role as a benefactor and possible patron in cultural and musical issues, of which he declares himself knowledgeable.
This is what is read in an email that Grau sent, on October 15, to the defense of the former first lady.after the Spanish Eva Ferrer assured that, upon returning to Bogotá, they arrived from that trip with two gray suitcases in which 2.5 million dollars came.
But, more than a cultural benefactor, federal agents told EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit that Grau is considered as an objective of interest within the administrative and judicial investigations carried out by the State Department and which have already left 9 Colombians without visas in two phases; and four more on the OFAC list.
READ ALSO
Police and courts
Manel Grau, Verónica Alcocer and Cilia Flores. Photo:VTV
The first decision was to include then-president Gustavo Petro on the Clinton list, to his ex-wife Verónica Alcocer, to his eldest son Nicolás Petro Burgos and to his minister Armando Benedetti.
Then, on September 28, they lost their entry visa to the United States the coastal megacontractor Euclides Torres and the senator of the Historic Pact coalition Martha Peralta.
And this Thursday, Christopher Landau, the so-called ‘United States visa remover’, approved that Ricardo Roa, manager of the Petro campaign and former head of Ecopetrol, also lost that document.
One of the photos that Verónica Alcocer’s defense attached about the trip to Caracas. Photo:THE TIME
In addition, congressmen Wadith Manzur, Karen Manrique, Julio Elías Chagüi and Liliana Bitar, involved in the looting of the UNGRD. The list of those sanctioned is completed by Yahir Acuña, mayor of Sincelejo, and José Ignacio Mesa, former Paisa congressman.
Sources in Washington told EL TIEMPO that the fourth phase of sanctions will include active and retired members of the Police and courts: “The withdrawal of visas, the inclusion in the OFAC list and/or transfers to prosecutors will be combined to add two indictments.”
READ ALSO
FBI and Juliana
Juliana Guerrero at the 2026 World Cup. Photo:Instagram @soy:juliana_g
In addition, this newspaper established that the group of federal agents that was in Bogotá a week ago He asked about other files from Petro’s entourage and about the processes followed by some of them in Colombia.
“One of those mentioned in the corruption issue is Juliana Guerrero, the young woman who was going to be appointed vice minister of Youth based on fraudulent titles. Although her case may be limited to the withdrawal of her United States visawhich he used in the Soccer World Cup, it is striking that he also asked about his sister Verónica and the alleged missions authorized by Petro to mediate kidnappings with an organization considered terrorist. Police planes were used for those trips.”said an informed source.
Gustavo Petro and Danilo Romero, the powerful PDVSA contractor. Photo:Archive
And regarding the Grau case, he assured that they have already asked current and former Venezuelan officials about How was it that a brother of the Catalan and another close friend of Petro and his ex-wife were left with an oil exploitation contract in that country.
Indeed, a company initially linked to Danilo Romero and then to the Catalan Gregorio Grau, brother of Manel Grau, ended in 2025 with two Productive Participation (CPP) contracts in PDVSA to exploit crude oil in the Apure-Barinas basin.
Danilo Romero is the husband of Carolina Plata, director of the private houses of the Presidency during the Petro government. The latter was mentioned by Eva Ferrer as an alleged figurehead of the former first lady and appears on trips from Alcocer and Grau to the United Arab Emirates.
Alcocer has already come out to assure that Carolina Plata is her trusted friend and that, like Romero, they helped them financially after Petro left the Bogotá Mayor’s Office. But he denied any wrongdoing.
However, it opened the possibility of someone using his name to obtain contracts and key positions in Ecopetrol and other State entities.
READ ALSO
The trail in Abu Dhabi
Verónica Alcocer in Dubai. Photo:Social networks
The Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO established that They are tracking Manel Grau’s movements to Abu Dhabi and other principalities where he arrived with Alcocer.
For researchers, these displacements do not fit with their supposed role as cultural benefactor. On the contrary, they fit with a millionaire technology contract, for 630 billion pesos, that ISA and its subsidiary Internexa have just asked for an investigation into possible irregularities.
The then Minister of Science and Information Technology of the Petro government, Yesenia Olaya, told EL TIEMPO that the Catalan participated in meetings where this project was discussed, due to his role as a member of the board of the Central de Inversiones SA (CISA), which was going to contribute some lots.
The photo of the wallet that Verónica Alcocer took to Caracas. Photo:THE TIME
And Saúl Kattan, former manager (e.) of Internexa, admitted to EL TIEMPO that he was surprised when he saw Grau in at least one of those meetings and that they gave him the same explanation. And now, sources from the Government itself confirmed to EL TIEMPO that the Catalan was also on the institutional visit that was made to Abu Dhabi within the framework of the BioNube project. And that he accompanied the former first lady on at least two other trips to the United Arab Emirates.
One of the former first lady’s trips was in early February 2025 to Dubai for an exchange of knowledge, while talking about the BioCloud.
READ ALSO
The ambassador and gold exploitation
Ambassador Luis Miguel Merlano Hoyos. Photo:Chancellery
This newspaper established that they are seeking to contact Luis Miguel Merlano, then Colombian ambassador to the Arab Emirates, to find out details of those meetings. According to the Las Dos Orillas media, he came to that position through his countryman Verónica Alcocer.
The former diplomat told EL TIEMPO that the first lady’s visits to the United Arab Emirates were official and duly documented.
“This information must be based on the reports sent to the Foreign Ministry. They were mostly given as invitations by the United Arab Emirates. COP28, and twice Zayed Award for Human fraternity”said Merlano.
When EL TIEMPO asked him what events Grau was at, he assured: “At COP28 if my memory serves me right, it was where Mr. Manel accompanied. And I don’t know in what condition, I had under my attention a delegation of more than 50 government officials, businessmen, media, communities, etc.”
The former ambassador also assured that no authority has asked him about these trips and denied that he had arrived at the embassy through Alcocer: “We are not related. My arrival at the Embassy responded to my professional merits and an impeccable resume, which can be consulted at the Foreign Ministry. My career and my professional credentials speak for themselves.”
What is now being investigated is that with the CISA board member credential, the Catalan also participated in meetings in which it was attempted to get that entity to take charge of the oil that the State receives as royalty payments. It was also attempted that, together with the National Mining Agency, The mining titles for gold exploitation will be controlled, administered by the Sociedad de Activos Especiales (SAE), an entity that depends on CISA.
For now, Grau announced legal actions against Eva Ferrer and denied all allegations against her.
READ ALSO
The defense of Alcocer
Verónica Alcocer and Cilia Flores. In the center, Manel Grau. Photo:Private file
Veronica Alcocer He has already made himself available to the Prosecutor’s Office to respond to Eva Ferrer’s accusations and provided photos, videos and a chronology of the trip to Venezuela to disprove the matter of the dollars in suitcases.
In addition, EL TIEMPO learned of a document that the former first lady’s lawyer sent to Ferrer’s defense, on the occasion of the trip that the latter announced to Washington to deliver information.
There he attached Manel Grau’s answers to some questions asked by Alcocer’s own defense, in which The Catalan said that he was invited to the delegation in Venezuela to visit a music system and that Ferrer’s statements in which he indicated that it was he who told him that 2.5 million dollars were brought in from that country were false, as he had already stated in a statement.
In fact, in the chronology of the trip, known to this newspaper, a photo of the orange bag that Alcocer was carrying is attached, which according to the defense is not of the size to carry drugs or money indicated by Ferrer.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltiempo.com
@UinvestigativaET
Follow us now on Facebook
