Former Foreign Minister of Colombia Álvaro Leyva said Tuesday that he received threats against himself and his family after he published two letters in recent weeks alleging that far-left President Gustavo Petro suffers from drug addiction problems.
Leyva asserted that he will hold Petro responsible for “anything that may happen to me or any member of my family in any context.”
Leyva served as Petro’s first foreign minister, taking office in August 2022 when Petro became Colombia’s first leftist president ever. Leyva was succeeded in May 2024 by Luis Gilberto Murillo, who served as foreign minister until late January, when Murillo was replaced by current Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia, who is widely described as a member of Petro’s innermost circle.
Between late April and early May, Leyva published two lengthy and explosive letters in which he claimed that, based on the “direct knowledge that I have had and still have of situations and facts,” Petro suffers from drug addiction. Leyva called for Petro to question his permanence as head of state in light of the alleged addiction.
Petro refuted the content of the two letters and instead levied public accusations against the former minister, claiming that he was conspiring with other Colombians in “meetings” organized by Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) to plot his ouster. Rep. Díaz-Balart urged Petro to “seek professional help with [his] addiction problem.”
On Tuesday, Leyva published a new letter stating that Petro has repeatedly “reacted aggressively” against him and his family to turn them into “scapegoats.” Leyva said that since then, he and his family have been “threatened by unknown individuals on several occasions” and that “something is being judicially cooked up” against him.
“But the reaction didn’t stop there. I have received reports that certain individuals are conspiring to harm me both administratively and criminally. First, by seeking to legitimize the blatant violation of due process by which former Attorney General Margarita Cabello imposed a sanction on me, which is currently under suspension,” Leyva said. “And second, by trying to attribute some behavior to me that could justify a criminal charge.”
“In that regard, in recent days a judicial police officer contacted someone close to me and asked for information in order to carry out a precautionary measure of restriction, a procedure typical in criminal cases before a formal indictment is made,” he continued. “This, even though I have not yet been notified of any investigations or judicial proceedings against me. Nor have I been called in for any interview or interrogation.”
Leyva continued his letter by asserting that Petro himself has said that he would bring “criminal justice” against him due to the “imaginary conspiracy that, in his delusion,” Petro claims exists involving Rep. Díaz-Balart.
“It is clear that something is being judicially cooked up against me. Therefore, I appeal to the professionalism of all legal practitioners, so that the Constitution and the law remain their only guide,” Leyva said, appealing to the international bodies that he has acquainted himself with throughout his career to denounce the persecution against him and his family.
“The eyes of the international community will be watching. Moreover, I hold President Petro personally responsible for anything that may happen to me or any member of my family in any context,” Leyva stressed.
“Be clear Gustavo: I will not shut up! My life, already long even if it bothers you, will continue to have meaning only if I fight for Colombia to recover the dignity stained by your sick and uncontrolled behavior, of which I have been a witness,” he continued. “Colombia’s image abroad cannot continue to be that of a president who neglects his duties, erratic, despot and prisoner of vice. Diaz-Balart is right: How embarrassing! And I add: How sad!”
Leyva concluded his letter by stating that he will “soon” send a new letter to Petro. Gustavo Petro has not publicly responded to Leyva’s latest letter at press time.
In Leyva’s first letter to Petro, published in late April, the former foreign minister claimed that he was able to confirm Petro’s alleged drug addiction when he went missing for two days during an unspecified official visit to Paris, France. In a second follow-up letter, dated May 5, Leyva recounted several “embarrassing” and “scandalous” occurrences caused by Petro with other heads of state throughout 2023 that he presented as evidence of the Colombian president’s drug problems.
Most notably, Leyva claimed that Petro disrespected Chinese dictator Xi Jinping by refusing to speak to him during a lavish banquet on the occasion of Petro’s visit to China in 2023. According to the letter, Petro was insistent on discussing the matter of Bogotá’s unfinished subway project with Xi despite the Chinese embassy’s warnings that the matter was of lesser importance to Xi and bringing it up would be considered disrespectful to the Chinese dictator.
The former foreign minister further claimed that Petro caused a “historic annoyance” with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his June 2023 visit to Germany after he lamented the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism in East Germany. Additionally, Leyva explained that upon Sarabia’s request, he had successfully arranged a telephone conversation between Petro and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan only for Petro to not pick up the phone. Leyva said that a second phone call with Erdogan was arranged, but it also went “unheeded” by Petro.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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