BOGOTA: Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that accusations by his former foreign minister that he is a drug addict are slander, after the ex-official published a letter recounting an incident he alleges took place in France.
Alvaro Leyva, who was foreign minister for nearly two years until May 2024, said in a lengthy public letter posted on X on Wednesday that Petro had “disappeared” for two days during an official visit to France in 2023. The letter also alleged that the president has “a drug addiction problem.”
Leyva provided no evidence to support his claims and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters has no independent information corroborating the accusations.
“Put simply, I’ve been slandered,” Petro said on X late on Wednesday, adding in a separate post that during the 2023 visit he had been spending time with his eldest daughter and her family, who live in France.
Petro’s daughter, Andrea, also posted on X, saying he had been with her family.
Petro’s office did not immediately respond to a message seeking further comment.
Leyva, an 82-year-old conservative, was appointed by leftist Petro when he took office in August 2022 and said in his letter that he felt the president’s ability to govern was being affected by several ongoing situations, including what he said was Petro’s use of his speeches to “incite a class war.”
Colombia’s former justice minister, Wilson Ruiz, said on Wednesday he had asked the investigative committee of the lower house to look into Petro’s mental and physical health because of the alleged drug use.
Contact information for Ruiz was not immediately available.
Colombian President Petro denies allegation of drug use
https://arab.news/88d9b
Colombian President Petro denies allegation of drug use
- Former foreign minister Alvaro Leyva, 82, provided no evidence to support his claims
- 'Put simply, I’ve been slandered,' the Colombian President Gustavo Petro said
Sanchez hails Spain’s immigration approach as a model for EU
- Prime minister rejects critics who argue Spain’s stance fuels illegal migration to the country
MADRID: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has hailed Spain’s openness to immigration as a model for Europe, saying it has benefited the economy and bolstered state coffers.
While other European nations have tightened their borders against newcomers under pressure from right-wing parties, Spain has championed legal immigration.
The country has opened up paths for migrants to live and work in the country legally, even as it has pushed to police its borders and block irregular migration.
Migration accounts for 80 percent of Spain’s economic growth over the past six years, and accounts for 10 percent of the country’s social security revenues, Sanchez said.
“Spain will continue to defend a migration model that works, one that works for Spain and could also help awaken an aging Europe,” the Socialist premier told a gathering of Spanish ambassadors in Madrid.
“Our model works. There is no so-called ‘pull effect,’” Sanchez added, rejecting critics who argue Spain’s pro-immigration stance fuels illegal migration to the country.
Irregular migrant arrivals to Spain fell by 42.6 percent in 2025 from the previous year to 36,775, largely due to a sharp drop in arrivals along the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, according to Interior Ministry figures.
Spain has reached cooperation agreements with several African nations that are key sources of irregular migration to bolster the fight against smuggling networks.
Spain, the EU’s fourth-largest economy, has outperformed its peers since 2021, supported by tourism, low energy costs, domestic consumption, and foreign investment.
The government forecasts the economy will expand by 2.9 percent in 2025, more than twice the euro zone average.
