🗞️ Controversy this week as Álvaro Leyva - former foreign minister - publicly claimed that President Gustavo Petro is struggling with drug addiction, accusing him of consequent abuses of power.
Leyva presented no hard evidence for these claims but, in an open letter published on Wednesday, said that during a state visit to France in June 2023, the president went missing for two days.
“It was in Paris where I was able to confirm that you had a drug addiction problem,” says the letter, which also criticises Petro’s inner circle and suggests manipulation by close aides like Armando Benedetti and Laura Sarabia.
“Your disappearances, late arrivals, unacceptable failures to appear, trips without purpose, incoherent phrases, and the questionable company you keep […] have been noted and will continue to be noted," wrote Leyva.
"Disassociate yourself from those who have abused you, who have taken advantage of your very complex situation and who have done and continue to do you terrible harm," says the letter.
These claims add to long-standing rumours about Petro’s abuse of drugs and alcohol, circulating since his time as mayor of Bogotá in 2012 - often linked to his erratic late-night social media behaviour and prolonged disappearances from the public eye.
Investigative journalist María Jimena Duzán has also published articles suggesting that Petro struggles with addiction.
Leyva, an 82-year-old right-winger, was Petro’s first foreign minister, holding the post for nearly two years from August 2022. The letter and its allegations have been published by both national and international press.
The president has denied all claims, saying they are defamatory. Petro claims to have been with his family during the two-day period in France. Alfonso Prada, Colombia's ambassador to France, has publicly supported Petro's version of events, as has Petro’s daughter Andrea.
Petro subsequently called Leyva ‘a viper’ during a public address in Soledad, Atlántico.
🗞️ Also this week, the president took aim at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), talking of ‘vampires’ as the fund suspended Colombia’s access to their $8.1 billion flexible credit line, due to the country’s fiscal deficits and public debt having risen more than expected.
The IMF have said resuming access is contingent on an ongoing consultation and subsequent review.
🗞️ Peace negotiations with the FARC dissident group Estado Mayor de Bloques (EMB) are in crisis again, following the group’s ambush of an army battalion in the department of Guaviare on Sunday, killing at least six soldiers and kidnapping five more.
The government had suspended operations against that group in order to continue negotiations, despite the bilateral ceasefire not having been renewed this month.
The president avoided suspending the peace process entirely, and instead called for an independent commission to investigate the events. The military’s suspension of offensive operations against the group remains in place.
🗞️ The first quarter of this year has been the most violent for signatories to the peace deal with the FARC guerrilla since the signing of the agreement in 2016: 18 signatories have been murdered so far this year.
This week, the Constitutional Court warned of serious flaws in the national protection system for these demobilised combatants, constituting serious violations of security guarantees and commitments in the peace deal.
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