Former Colombian diplomat sought help from U.S. in plot to oust Petro, report says

Miami Herald

30-06-2025

Colombia is reeling from a high-stakes political scandal after explosive audio leaks revealed a secret plot —allegedly orchestrated by former foreign minister and once-trusted ally Álvaro Leyva— to remove President Gustavo Petro from power, supposedly with help from U.S. allies.
According to an investigation published by the Spanish newspaper El País, Leyva, 82, secretly met with Republican operatives in the United States earlier this year, including advisers with ties to Donald Trump's political circle. In those meetings, Leyva allegedly sought support for a strategy to pressure Petro from office—potentially even involving armed criminal groups inside Colombia.
There's no indication that Leyva succeeded in directly meeting with high-ranking U.S. leaders.
The revelation has prompted outrage in Colombia and concern abroad, especially given the apparent overtures to foreign politicians and the suggestion that criminal networks could play a role in the country's leadership transition.
Leyva served as Petro's foreign minister from 2022-24, overseeing key diplomatic efforts and peace negotiations with armed groups. But after being suspended over irregularities in a government passport contract, he fell out with the administration and began publicly accusing Petro of erratic behavior and substance abuse.
Now, it appears those accusations were part of a broader plan. According to El País, Leyva traveled to the U.S. in April and tried to arrange meetings with high-profile Republicans including Florida U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In private conversations, Leyva reportedly told associates he had 'all the tools' to remove Petro and install Vice President Francia Márquez in his place.
Sources quoted in the El País report say Leyva claimed he possessed 'evidence' that Petro was unfit for office, describing the president as a man suffering from serious drug problems. But the White House never took the request seriously, according to officials familiar with the situation.
The most alarming detail from the leaked audio recordings is Leyva's alleged suggestion that Colombia's powerful drug cartels and guerrilla groups could help broker a transition.
'There has to be a national agreement,' Leyva says in one recording. 'The ELN, the Gulf Clan... they all have to be part of it.'
The Gulf Clan is Colombia's largest drug-trafficking organization and has been responsible for widespread violence, extortion and assassinations across the country. The idea that a former foreign minister would involve them in a political plot has stunned Colombians and raised alarms about democratic backsliding.
Leyva also claimed to have backing from major business leaders and lobbied for international pressure, saying that the U.S. needed to play a key role in the transition.
The scandal has also engulfed Vice President Márquez, who is named several times in the recordings. Leyva implies that Márquez was aware of and even sympathetic to the plan, citing text messages in which the two expressed mutual support.
After reviewing the tapes, Petro reportedly confronted Márquez and asked her to publicly deny any involvement. She refused, according to sources close to the president, and their working relationship has since collapsed.
The vice president has not spoken publicly about the controversy, but allies insist she played no role in any attempt to undermine the administration.
Petro, who has had a turbulent relationship with Colombia's political establishment since taking office, has described Leyva's actions as a 'coup attempt' against a democratically elected government. During a speech earlier this month, he accused unnamed individuals of trying to remove him through illicit means, though he offered few details at the time.
Privately, Petro is said to have been furious when he heard the recordings, which were provided to Colombian intelligence officials. Days later, Leyva reportedly fled to Madrid, citing concerns for his personal safety.
The president's critics, meanwhile, accuse him of using the scandal to distract from stalled reforms and growing public dissatisfaction. Violence has increased in some regions, and Petro's ambitious legislative agenda remains bogged down in Congress.
With a year left in his term, Petro faces mounting challenges, not just from his political opponents, but from within his own coalition. The Leyva scandal highlights growing fractures in the government and raises questions about the future of Márquez, once seen as a rising political star.
Leyva's political journey is marked by paradoxes. A longtime conservative, he was tapped by Petro—a leftist former guerrilla—as foreign minister in a surprising gesture of national unity. He played a key role in 'Total Peace,' Petro's effort to negotiate with all of Colombia's armed groups.
But that cooperation broke down following Leyva's suspension in late 2024. Sources say Leyva expected to return to a position of influence, possibly as a mediator in a proposed 'national agreement' that Petro hoped would unite political forces behind his reforms.
When that didn't happen, Leyva went public with accusations about Petro's alleged drug use and claimed the president had disappeared for two days during an official trip to France. Petro denied those claims and mocked Leyva in a series of social media posts, saying Paris was full of museums and bookstores 'far more interesting' than the former minister.