Colombia's National Intelligence Directorate (DNI) allegedly planned to install microphones and GPS tracking devices in vehicles assigned to former presidents and vice presidents, while an intelligence agency employee was identified in internal documents as leading a hacker network tasked with interfering in the country's 2026 presidential election.

The allegations are detailed in confidential intelligence documents and classified reports from the Presidency obtained by Noticias Caracol Television's Investigative Unit. The material includes a 26-page intelligence handover report prepared in July 2026 for the incoming DNI director, documenting alleged surveillance plans, possible election interference, suspected foreign intelligence activity and significant irregularities in the agency's procurement and operations during Gustavo Petro's administration.

Alleged surveillance of former presidents

The 26-page report describes an alleged plan to equip vehicles assigned to former Colombian presidents and vice presidents with microphones and GPS tracking devices, potentially allowing the DNI to monitor their movements and activities.

The plan was reportedly connected to Decree 0563, signed by Petro on June 3, 2026, which added the DNI to the government agencies responsible for assigning vehicles to former presidents and vice presidents. The decree formally expanded the agency's involvement in the allocation process, while the intelligence report questioned whether the change was intended to facilitate surveillance of the protected officials.

Juan Carlos Restrepo, a former national security adviser and former DNI inspector, said the agency's involvement in surveillance activities of this nature would fall outside its legal responsibilities. He cautioned, however, that establishing the intentions behind the alleged arrangements would require further evidence.

The report also describes an alleged coordinated effort within the DNI to remove employees associated with the incoming administration, with the intention of having them reinstated through subsequent legal challenges. A separate allegation concerns an unregistered intelligence facility near the United States Embassy in Bogotá, which was reportedly vacated after the presidential elections, with its existence allegedly removed from official agency records.

Suspected Russian intelligence activity

The documents also raise concerns about potential Russian intelligence involvement in the DNI's internal systems. Personnel who traveled to Moscow for training with Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reportedly received computers and mobile devices that may have contained surveillance malware.

The devices were allegedly intended to compromise the agency's systems and facilitate intelligence collection against the incoming administration. The report recommended an immediate forensic examination of equipment distributed to the personnel involved.

Multimillion-dollar intelligence acquisitions

The intelligence review identifies several substantial procurement irregularities, including a 9 billion Colombian peso (approximately $2.2 million) purchase of an unmanned helicopter intended for intelligence and counterintelligence operations.

The aircraft was advertised with a maximum range of 600 kilometers, up to six hours of flight endurance and a 200-kilometer data transmission range. However, an August 2025 technical assessment identified simultaneous failures involving its communications, fuel, gearbox and engine systems. A test flight was reportedly canceled over safety concerns, and the contract subsequently entered a sanctioning process over alleged technical noncompliance.

The aircraft also suffered an incident on March 15, 2026, which remained under internal review. Despite its purchase price, the helicopter was reportedly insured for only 900 million pesos, approximately 10 percent of its value.

A separate 11-page procurement report submitted to the Presidency in September identified additional acquisitions, including four 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles, two of which were reportedly outfitted with counter-drone equipment for the presidential residence. The DNI purchased three counter-drone systems for a combined 8.34 billion pesos. Officials were also examining concerns that the vehicles may have contained equipment capable of intercepting communications.

Other questioned expenditures included a biometric identification system purchased for 580 million pesos that reportedly could not be implemented because of compatibility issues, as well as 595 computers acquired for 1.314 billion pesos that were criticized for poor quality and performance.

The agency also lost access to its centralized mission-recording platform after failing to renew its service contract in 2024, leaving it without a system to consistently register intelligence and counterintelligence operations. Additional purchases in January 2026 included lecterns costing 14 million pesos each and beds priced at 18 million pesos each, intended for new DNI offices in Funza, where construction was reportedly 12 percent behind schedule.

Alleged election interference operation

One of the most serious findings involves Carlos Andrés Oyola Tovar, a systems engineer who joined the DNI in February 2024 and was identified in internal documents as being involved in the agency's technology operations.

Internal assessments described Oyola as having previously accessed databases belonging to other government institutions, allegedly making the information available to the agency's counterintelligence division before losing the data. He was subsequently assigned to the DNI's technology group.

The documents identify Oyola as the alleged leader of a network of hackers and operatives tasked with interfering in the June 21, 2026, presidential runoff. The stated objective was to alter voting results and carry out cyberattacks against the National Civil Registry, known as the Registraduría, Colombia's electoral authority. The documents placed Oyola in Madrid, Spain, alongside other alleged participants during the planned operation.

A judge had issued an arrest warrant for Oyola on May 7, 2026, weeks before the first round of the presidential election. Despite the warrant, he reportedly remained employed by the intelligence agency until his arrest.

Oyola was captured on November 6 in connection with a separate hacking case involving the National Open and Distance University (UNAD). His continued employment at the DNI, despite the outstanding warrant and allegations surrounding his activities, has raised further questions about the agency's internal oversight and personnel vetting procedures.

The documents do not establish that the alleged election interference operation successfully altered any results or that the Registraduría was compromised.

Questions surrounding the DNI

The disclosures raise broader questions about the use of Colombia's intelligence capabilities during the Petro administration, including potential political surveillance, foreign intelligence vulnerabilities, electoral interference and the oversight of billions of pesos in public procurement.

The former DNI directors Rafael Guarín and Jorge Lemus, as well as Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo, were approached for comment but did not provide responses. Several former presidents also declined to comment publicly on the alleged surveillance plans.

The allegations remain subject to further investigation, particularly regarding whether the documented plans were authorized, operationalized or carried out, and whether any sensitive government or electoral information was compromised.