Demands for resignation are piling up around Colombia’s new Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia, who is now launching a frontal attack on critics in her own government.
“They are trying to ruin my name and whisper lies to the president,” she writes in an opinion piece in El País.
“This week I have been slandered,” she continues.
The accusations concern abuse of power, corruption and lack of suitability. She believes that the media has uncritically reported on anonymous sources and that she is now being made a “scapegoat.”
The 30-year-old has been President Gustavo Petros’ closest aide for several years. In an interview with El Espectador, she says that the criticism is the price she has to pay for her success, her gender, her age and the fact that she is relatively new to politics.
Storm in the Colombian government – the foreign minister is under pressure
Colombia's new foreign minister Laura Sarabia is accused of corruption, abuse of power and lack of suitability – by her own ministerial colleagues. This is reported by the El País editorial office in Latin America.
The 30-year-old gained unexpectedly great influence after Gustavo Petro's government took office at the end of 2022. She rose through the ranks very quickly and became the country's "number two" – no one else was closer to the president.
At the beginning of the year, she was appointed foreign minister. Many of her rivals see it as having lost the president's favor, as she is now leaving the office right next to his. And this has led to several new accusations coming to the surface.
She is accused, among other things, of having isolated the head of state and not providing him with all the information. At the same time, she is involved in at least two investigations related to suspected corruption.
"The situation is of maximum tension. Sarabia knows that some of her colleagues in the government want to oust her at all costs," writes El País.
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