The mystery of President Gustavo Petros’ hat has been solved. For the first time in two months, the Colombian head of state appeared in public on Tuesday without a veil. He did so at the swearing-in ceremony of Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, which he attended wearing a red plaid shirt, a black sweater, but without his now-trademark presidential hat. The president’s head looked different than before he started wearing the cap 24/7. According to what a source close to the presidency told this newspaper and three surgeons agreed in separate interviews, the explanation is clear: Petro had a hair transplant.
That’s what Dr. Mónica Jiménez Baquero believes after examining several official photos of Petro taken this Tuesday. This doctor, who specializes in hair implants and heads the HIC Capilar clinic in Bogotá, is convinced: “It’s absolutely clear that a hair transplant took place.” He explains that the president “has a clearly defined front line that he didn’t have before.” And he adds that “the shadow of the implant is seen in zone A (frontal area)”: “From what I can see, it may have been about two months since the hair transplant was done.” According to the specialist, in the first hours after this procedure the patient should use natural means of protection from the sun, such as a cap.
Juliana Sánchez, a surgeon specializing in hair transplantation, agrees. “According to the photos, it could indicate a hair transplant,” he says. Sánchez says there are many factors that lead her to believe Petro has undergone this procedure. He notes that the president is showing a very slight redness on the top of his head, “like he’s healing.” In addition, the hair growth on the top “is very different” from that on the back and sides. “This can also happen after a hair transplant,” she explains.
Dr. Lina Triana, who has 20 years of experience in the field, agrees. “I can’t say for sure, but it looks like something has happened,” he said by phone. Although the three doctors agree, Bureau representatives have neither confirmed nor denied the treatment. Petro’s press team has not publicly explained the matter and did not respond to this newspaper’s inquiries.
But the doctors and the source close to the Presidency are not the first to confirm that there was a hair treatment under the hood. After Peter began covering his head constantly, questions began to arise. Faced with official silence and the hat as an ever-present element in public appearances, it became a topic of discussion on social media and radio. Néstor Morales, the director of the popular radio program Mañanas Blu, raised the possibility of a hair transplant on April 10 and said he had confirmation from the Casa de Nariño, the presidential residence and workplace. And investigative journalist Jorge Espinosa, from Caracol Radio, confirmed the theory on the same day. “It is correct. (…) The issue of the cap and the president has more to do with vanity, which everyone has a right to, than other issues,” he told X, formerly of Twitter.
Six weeks later, without a hat for official photos, the mystery is solved: as millions of men do every day, Petro underwent a hair transplant. Politicians, after all, are only human.
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