Colombia: Former foreign minister Álvaro Leyva accuses Gustavo Petro of drug addiction and abuse of power

Former Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán disclosed a letter he sent to Gustavo Petro in which he uncovered some alleged drug addiction problems the president has and mentioned the abuse of power he exercised.

Specifically, Leyva referred to an episode that occurred in Paris, France during an official visit. The former foreign minister revealed that Petro disappeared for two days, which made the former minister realize that the president allegedly consumes drugs.

"The memories of episodes that occurred that are still fresh in my mind, with me as the first witness, still produce dismay and bewilderment in me. One of them, the occasion when you disappeared for two days in Paris during an official visit. As if the French intelligence was incompetent not to have known your whereabouts. Embarrassing moments for me as a person and as your Chancellor. And even more so when I found out where you had been (...) It was in Paris where I was able to confirm that you had a drug addiction problem," Leyva stated in his letter.

On the sidelines, Leyva - who recounted in his letter the progressive distancing he had with Petro - took aim against Laura Sarabia - then chief of Cabinet and, today, Minister of Foreign Affairs -, about whom he said that "she satisfied some personal needs" of the president.

Armando Benedetti -current Minister of the Interior- was also mentioned, whom Leyva accused of being a "drug addict." He blames both of them as the ones responsible for causing that estrangement with Petro and for his abuse of power.

Petro responds by attacking Leyva and the press

Faced with the accusations of his former foreign minister, the Colombian president was quick to respond, attacking both Leyva and the press for sharing the letter and the alleged drug addiction problems he suffers from.

"The only way for the press to publish letters is to insult me. It not only speaks ill of the writer, but of the press," Petro said through X. "Doesn't Paris have parks, museums, bookstores, more interesting than the writer, to spend two days? Almost everything in Paris is more interesting. Don't I have daughters and granddaughters in Paris who are much more interesting than the writer?"

Petro's recent reference to drugs

A few days ago, the president of Colombia alluded to drugs. Specifically, to cocaine, during a speech in front of Latin American leaders at the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, held in February.

"Whiskey kills more than cocaine. Those who order us to put people in prison for making cocaine are drunk on whiskey," Petro stressed.