Álvaro Leyva (left) and President Gustavo Petro (right). Photo: Semana.
Former official Álvaro Leyva announced that he will appeal to international bodies to denounce what he considers political and family persecution.
Former Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán published a statement to the public denouncing threats against his life and that of his family following a confrontation with Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
According to Leyva, this serious situation arose after he sent two letters to President Gustavo Petro, the most recent dated May 5, in which he questioned the president’s fitness to serve due to what he described as a “serious drug addiction.”
Leyva maintains that, since these communications, he has been the target of verbal attacks by President Petro, both in public spaces and through the media.
Previously, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the letters from his former foreign minister “dangerous because they are an attack on Colombian democracy” and pointed to Leyva as part of an international plot: “It’s not Colombian, even though there are Colombians [involved]. Therefore, it’s extremely dangerous because it’s an attack on Colombia’s national sovereignty, on democracy and the freedom of Colombians, not just to defend myself as a person.”
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“The things he’s supposedly denouncing, which any journalist with half a brain should be able to see—How absurd, how are they evidence? Of what? Drug addiction? I’m a revolutionary; I don’t let myself be enslaved. Sometimes, I even have problems with women because of it, in my personal life,” Petro said in a public address in early May.
For his part, Leyva claims that these accusations have exposed him to risk and harassment, noting that unknown individuals have threatened him repeatedly.
El excanciller colombiano🇨🇴 Álvaro Leyva publicó una segunda carta abierta dirigida al presidente Gustavo Petro, en la que insiste en sus señalamientos personales en donde cuestiona la salud mental y física del mandatariohttps://t.co/LDKZ4uJvo7
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) May 7, 2025
In this regard, the former official warned that, if something happens to him or his family, the responsibility would fall on the Colombian head of state.
In addition to the threats, the former minister claims there are maneuvers to harm him in the judicial and administrative spheres.
According to the former foreign minister, the attempt is being made to uphold the sanction imposed by former Attorney General Margarita Cabello, currently suspended, while he also alleges that they are seeking to charge him with a crime without any official notification of proceedings against him nor summons for interviews or interrogations.
“I have learned that there are people plotting to harm me administratively and criminally,” he said in the statement.
One of the most serious accusations in the statement refers to an attempt at detention, in which it states that a judicial police officer contacted a close person to request information in order to carry out this measure.
COMUNICADO A LA OPINIÓN PÚBLICA pic.twitter.com/N3PqbVr4t5
— Álvaro Leyva Durán (@AlvaroLeyva) May 20, 2025
This action, he points out, would only make sense if there were a formal charge, which, according to him, has not occurred to date.
Leyva links these actions to statements by President Petro, who reportedly expressed his intention to pursue criminal proceedings against him for an alleged international conspiracy.
The former minister mentions that, according to the president, he was coordinating actions with US Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, an accusation he describes as unfounded and the product of “delirium.”
Faced with this situation, the former Colombian foreign minister announces that he will appeal to international bodies to denounce what he considers to be political and family-related persecution.
In closing the letter, Leyva reaffirms that he will continue to express his opinions and send new communications to the head of state.
(TeleSUR)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JB/SH