The newly crowned Mrs. Universe, Colombia’s Layla Martinez, said Tuesday sore losers have accused her of being married to a drug trafficker.
According to Martinez, Russian press have falsely linked her to former Senator and namesake Juan Carlos Martinez, who has been charged with drug trafficking after having spent the past few years in jail for his ties to paramilitary groups.
“The last name of my husband is Cantillo,” said Martinez, indicating the Russians had created the story out of nothing.
The Colombian beauty said explosive reports in the Russian media, in which her “husband” was accused of being a drug trafficker, were the result of her jealous co-participants making up stories based on Colombia’s decades old reputation as the world’s primary cocaine producer.
“This is the first time Colombia wins something of this magnitude. Some candidates were not happy, they were bothered,” she told radio station W Radio. “We have to keep in mind our country has been characterized by narco-trafficking, the guerrilla, Pablo Escobar. We are being stigmatized for things you see on a daily basis.”
The Mrs. Universe beauty pageant is held annually and allows only married women to participate.