Verónica del Socorro Alcocer García (born 26 May 1976) is a Colombian politician and philanthropist who has been serving as First Lady of Colombia since 7 August 2022, as the wife of President Gustavo Petro.

His positions in the administration and those of Petro's relatives have been criticized by Colombian publications such as Semana and La Silla Vacía,[21][22] which have accused the president of nepotism.

[25][26] In June 2022, a series of secretly recorded videos of private meetings of Petro's presidential campaign were leaked, in one of which Alcocer was heard saying that all female journalists slept their way to the top.

[29][30] Within a week of assuming her role, Alcocer drew criticism from both her husband's supporters and detractors for adopting a white savior attitude towards the Afro-Colombian community.

[31] During the heavy storms of November 2022, Alcocer was active in emergency response; on November 8, she landed in Cartagena[32] and led a Unified Command Post which also involved Mayor William Dau the governor of Bolívar, Vicente Blel, the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, the governor of Atlántico,[33] Elsa Noguera, the general director of Social Prosperity, Cielo Rusinque the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada and the director of the Risk Management Unit, Javier Pava.

[34][35] On 24 May 2023 she traveled to La Guajira, to meet the indigenous communities in Uribia and Manaure,[36] where she observed and listened to the main complaints of the inhabitants of these remote areas of the country,[37] as well as promising to be a voice from the people to the government.

[46] On 14 January 2023, Alcocer traveled to Vatican City[47] on behalf of her husband, to hold a 30-minute audience[48] in the Library of the Apostolic Palace with Pope Francis.

On 6 May 2023, Alcocer and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Álvaro Leyva,[60] travelled to London as representatives of the Colombian government at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.

[61] On Monday, 12 June 2023, Alcocer received the Queen of Spain[62] who arrived in Cartagena, as part of her agenda with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.

[77][78][79] In September 202 he traveled to China at the invitation of Colombo-China Friendship Association, where she advanced her work agenda focused on cooperation in education projects for youth and gender equality.

[83][84] On October 23, 2024, he traveled to Vatican City for the second time to hold a meeting with Pope Francis and later participate in the recitation of the Angelus in St. Peter's Square.

[106][107] Alcocer was harshly criticized, after a series of videos were leaked during her stay in Madrid, in which she made funny faces while the national anthem was playing, which was classified by some as disrespectful and rude,[108][109] at the same time she was criticized for dancing in the street to the rhythm of the native mapalé dance[110][111] from the Pacific region of Colombia, performed by a group of Colombian musicians based in Spain.

[122][123] Alcocer seeks to showcase the work of Colombian artisans, appearing in public with items such as Metalero handmade jewelry, a bag by designer Adriana Ureta and gift shoes from Norberto and Antonio.

[124] During her state visit to unlink Spain in May 2023,[125] she stood out for her use of practical ethnic outfits, representative of Colombian culture, especially with the use of symbolism of the colors fungi and white.

For her arrival at the Palacio Real de Madrid on 3 May 2023, Alcocer wore an ecru crepe dress, 100 percent wool, decorated with handcrafted appliqués, which were made by Diana Chirimía, from the Embera katío tribe.

The fabrics were decorated with beads, by the indigenous embera Gladys Nacavera Güipa, while Cali designer Andres Totalora oversaw the completion of the ensemble.