Colombia’s President Gustavo pressed criminal charges against his former Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva over an alleged plot to oust the Head of State.
The criminal charges follow recordings published by Spanish newspaper El Pais in which Leyva was heard discussing his plans to “get rid” of Petro with the help of US congressmen “within three weeks.”
The alleged coup and Colombia’s opposition
In a series of publications on social media platform Twitter, the former foreign minister said that the president was unfit for office because he would be addiction to drugs.
On behalf of Petro, attorney Alejandro Carranza formally pressed the charges of conspiracy, incitement to commit a crime, undermining national integrity and slander against Leyva.
The criminal charges are linked to a preliminary investigation that was opened by the Prosecutor General’s Office after receiving the Leyva tapes more than a months ago.
The release of the recordings caused a major uproar in Colombian politics as Leyva was heard saying that he had the support of Vice-President Francia Marquez and wanted to involve far-right presidential candidate Vicky Davila.
Both Marquez and Davila have vehemently denied any involvement in the plot.
US Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who was mentioned by Leyva, dismissed the evidence as “falsehoods and inventions.”
The publication of the recordings shocked the conservative and far-right opposition to Petro in Congress, which was seeking US support for the opposition while Leyva was lobbying support for a coup d’état.
Corporate media pundits and far-right politicians tried to downplay the seriousness of the evidence that was made public accusing Petro of spinning conspiracy theories for months.