Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombia’s current Foreign Minister, announced his resignation on January 20, after which former Chief of Staff Laura Sarabia was named as his successor. Sarabia has been involved in the three biggest corruption scandals of the current government.
“In the midst of agreements and disagreements, we demonstrated that, when dialogue and consensus-building are prioritized, it is possible to move towards a better country,” Murillo stated in a post announcing his resignation on X.
Sarabia’s appointment is expected to lead to the resignation or removal of the Colombian ambassadors in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Nicaragua, according to Colombian radio station W Radio.
Speculation about Murillo’s resignation had grown since October 2024, with sources confirming that he intended to resign to be able to run in the 2026 presidential elections.
Image Source: Laura Sarbia via X
Murillo also ran in 2022 as the vice presidential candidate for Sergio Fajardo, a politician from the political center, who lost to current President Gustavo Petro.
This will be Sarabia’s fourth position in the Petro government. The incoming minister first worked as the president’s Chief of Staff until June 2023’s so-called “nannygate” scandal. Months after her removal from the government as a result of the scandal, she was named as director of the government’s Social Prosperity Department.
In February 2024, she was also named the Director of the President’s Administrative Department (DAPRE), a position she resigned from in January to assume the Minister position.
The “nannygate” scandal
In May 2024, while Sarabia worked as the President’s Chief of Staff, Colombian news magazine Semana published a complaint from Marelbys Meza, Sarabia’s family nanny. Meza alleged that she was forced to take a polygraph test after she was accused of stealing a cash-filled briefcase from Sarabia’s house.
Meza also explained that the forced polygraph had happened in the basement of Colombia’s presidential residence, the Casa de Nariño, and that she was told the briefcase held 150 million Colombian pesos (approximately USD $35,000).
“When I was in that basement I felt kidnapped, stunned, suffocated while waiting for the polygraph,” she told Semana at the time.
Why Sarabia had a briefcase with so much money was questioned by Colombian media. Based on her tax return documents and her salary as a government employee, she would have had to get $105 million COP between August 2022 and January 2023 while under a $15 million COP per month contract.
In response to the speculation, Sarabia stated that the briefcase held “no more than $7,000 USD, corresponding to the repayment of travel expenses from official trips between August 2022 to January 2023.”
Image Source: Creative Commons Licenses
Regardless, the alleged human rights violations that Meza denounced, which included intimidation by the police and government workers, illegal vigilance towards her and her family, the illegal wiretapping of her phone, and kidnapping, prompted an investigation by Colombia’s Prosecutor’s Office.
Explaining that her presence in the government could not be seen as an opportunity for abuses of power in the investigation, President Petro announced in June 2023 that Sarabia would be stepping down from her role as Chief of Staff.
“I have peace of mind in knowing that I acted correctly, with integrity and without any particular interest,” Sarabia stated at the time.
In spite of assuring media outlets that she would not be taking on any more public positions following the scandal, she was sworn in as the president of the Social Prosperity Department in September 2023, three months after her initial withdrawal from the government.
Leaked voice messages and alleged corruption
In the same week as Sarabia resigned from her Chief of Staff position, Semana also published presumably leaked voice messages from then-ambassador to Venezuela Armando Benedetti to Sarabia on June 5, 2023, in which he spoke of corruption during Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign.
According to Semana, the altercation happened after Benedetti was jilted by President Petro after requesting a meeting with him.
Image Source: Presidencia de Colombia
In the audios, Benedetti claims that he spent $15 billion COP (USD $3.4 million) in bribes to guarantee Petro’s 2022 elections, and retaliated against Sarabia for allegedly gatekeeping the President’s attention and power.
The former ambassador, however, claimed that the leaked messages had been altered, and apologized to President Petro and Sarabia for his aggressive words.
“Laura has been facing enormous pressure, a situation which I was unaware of. She must have suffered a lot as a result,” President Petro stated at the time.
In June 2024, another alleged corruption case involving Sarabia was denounced by journalist María Jimena Duzán, who claimed on her podcast that the incoming minister’s brother frequents the Casa de Nariño as a powerful lobbyist.
Image Source: Mónica Saade via X
According to Duzán, Andrés Sarabia, Laura’s brother, personally benefits from government dealings. As Duzán alleges, one of these benefits is a 30% commission imposed on all contractors who do business with the state.
“I don’t understand why a president like Gustavo Petro, who vowed to end corruption, would allow the most powerful woman in the state to have her brother working as a lobbyist,” Duzán stated.
In a statement, Sarabia denied all of Duzán’s allegations, explaining that the journalist’s sources might have been working in bad faith to tarnish her and her family’s image.
Reactions to Foreign Minister Sarabia
Since president Petro’s announcement about Sarabia’s new position, former diplomats and employees of the Foreign Ministry have encouraged their colleagues to sign a letter, with the intention of delivering it to the president. In it, the signatories express their “deep worry and protest before the naming of Laura Sarabia as Foreign Minister.”
“This designation violates the fundamental principles of transparency, merit and professionalism that constitute the exercise and leadership of the country’s foreign policy, and represents an insult to the principles and meaning of the Diplomatic and Consular Career,” the letter adds.
Similarly, Senator Paola Holguín from the Democratic Center opposition party, questioned Sarabia’s capacity to manage and lead Colombia’s relations with other States, noting that she does not have previous experience working for the Foreign Ministry.
Sarabia is set to begin her work as Foreign Minister on February 1, after completing a two-week handover process with Murillo.
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