Colombia’s former foreign minister lashes out at Petro

Colombia’s former Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva published an open letter in which he suggested President Gustavo Petro was addicted to drugs.

In the four-page letter, which was published on social media platform X, Leyva urged the president to distance himself from Interior Minister Armando Benedetti and Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia, claiming they “have taken advantage of your extremely complex situation.”

Mr. President, disassociate yourself from those who have abused you, who have taken advantage of your extremely complex situation, and who have done and continue to do you terrible harm.

Álvaro Leyva

This extremely complex situation would be partially caused by Petro’s addiction to drugs, according to Leyva.

The former foreign minister cited the president’s unexplained a two-day absence during a trip abroad, saying “it was in Paris that I was able to confirm that you had a drug addiction problem.”

Pointing to Petro’s tirades on social media, “laced with inappropriate threats”, Leyva called the president’s online behavior an “abuse of power” and said Petro runs the risk to “incite class struggle.”

Lamenting his inability to meet with the Petro to discuss foreign policy while in office, Duran says that the problem was not his alone.

I quickly realized that you didn’t speak regularly with your ministers, almost never. I found that your circle of trust was quite small. We discussed it among the ministers. I, the eldest, became a listener to several.

Álvaro Leyva

Leyva claims the fault was with Sarabia, who was the president’s chief of staff at the time and “in control of your time, of some of your duties, and that, in addition, she was also meeting some of your personal needs.”

The former minister additionally accused Benedetti of being “addicted to drugs [and] a sick man.”

Leyva, a long-time conservative peace activist, was appointed foreign minister when Petro took office in August 2022 and was suspended in January 2024.