Petro accuses former FM of plotting to overthrow him
Petro’s lawyer also underlined that a US lawmaker spoke ill of the Colombian head of state with no supporting evidence
Colombian President Gustavo Petro filed a lawsuit Wednesday against former Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva for allegedly plotting to remove him from power. The former official has been accused of treason, libel, slander, conspiracy to commit sedition, and incitement to commit a crime.
The legal action stems from leaked audio recordings in which Leyva allegedly discusses strategies to oust the president, including seeking external support from a foreign government to exert pressure and bring about a constitutional breakdown.
Petro’s lawyer Alejandro Carranza also criticized US Congressman Carlos Giménez for echoing Leyva’s claims that Petro has drug addiction issues, questioning the basis of such accusations. Carranza asserted that Leyva’s statements were part of a manipulative communication strategy aimed at promoting a coup narrative from abroad.
In the event that an investigative initiative or preliminary investigation already exists, I respectfully request that we be allowed to present and link the president as a victim, if it is teleologically related to the reported events, the lawyer contended.
Treason must be viewed in a clear context, which is that he is a former foreign minister of this government. And he could not go to a foreign government to ask them to exert pressure, to help bring about a constitutional breakdown so that President Petro would be removed from office in an abnormal manner, he added.
The lawsuit argues that Leyva’s actions violate fundamental principles of the Colombian Constitution and international treaties, which protect popular sovereignty and democratic stability. The Attorney General’s Office has reportedly opened an investigation into the leaked audios.
The US government did not do so, although we must take into account the statements that one of the US congressmen has repeatedly made, which is that the president is an addict, that he is sick, etc., etc. And what evidence does the country have? What documents have proven this? the lawyer further underlined.
