The real reason Colombian world leader may have had his visa revoked

Daily Mail​

25-04-2025

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has denied allegations brought forward by his former foreign minister that he has a drug addiction just a day after revealing he is banned from traveling to the U.S.
Alvaro Leyva, who served for almost two years until he was ousted in May 2024, wrote on a letter he shared on X on Wednesday that Petro had disappeared for two days during an official visit to Paris in 2023.
In the letter, which was delivered to the president's office a day earlier, Leyva claimed it was during that time that he noticed that the president was using drugs without offering concrete proof.
'I'm sorry to say this today — late, admittedly — but around that time I was already aware of episodes of similar behavior on your part,' the former top diplomat wrote. 'It was in Paris that I was able to confirm that you had a drug addiction problem.'
Leyva, an 82-year-old conservative, then went on to say that he was unable to do anything at the time because of his position within Petro's administration.
'But what could I have done? I was certainly inferior. I should have approached you, helped you, assisted you in a timely manner,' Leyva said.
'I harbor the regret of not having tried to reach out to you. The truth is, you never recovered. That's how it is. Your recovery, sadly, has not taken place.'
Petro, a former member of the 19th of April Movement guerrilla group, immediately took to X on Wednesday and explained that he taken advantage of the trip to France to spend time with his daughter, Andrea Petro, and her children.
'It became a sin for me to be with my family,' the leftist leader said. 'Because several of my children and my mother live abroad, and because of the persecution we suffer, I have very few opportunities to see them.
'I didn't think this fact would unleash such terrible suspicions in the people I've shaken hands with.'
In a separate post later in the day, Petro said it would have been impossible to have gone missing because of the security provided by the French government.
'The writer is so vulgar that he forgot to tell you that during an official visit by a head of state to France, there is always direct and permanent physical protection from the French secret service,' he wrote. 'I've simply been slandered.'
Andrea Petro also dismissed Leyva's accusations and said her father was with her.
'In France, my dad found something rare in Colombia: family time, privacy, calm,' she wrote on X.
'His favorite pastime was spending time with my daughters, being a grandfather without distractions. Guilty of disconnecting him a little? I admit it. We were just looking for a peace that isn't allowed there.'
Colombia's former justice minister, Wilson Ruiz, piggybacked on Leyva's letter on Wednesday and called on the lower house to look in investigated Petro's mental and physical health.
Leyva said the leftist leader had gone missing for several days during an official visit to Paris in 2023 and that it was during that trip that he noticed that Petro was a drug user
Leyva's stunning claims came a day after Petro shocked the South American nation and revealed that his travel visa to the United States had been revoked by the administration of President Donald Trump.
Petro said Finance Minister Germán Avila would take his place at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
'I can't go anymore because I think they've revoked my visa,' Petro said during a Council of Ministers meeting on Monday.
'I didn't need a visa, but hey, I've seen Donald Duck several times. So, I'm off to see other things.'
It's unknown when Petro had his travel visa suspended.
In a statement to DailMail.com on Wednesday, the U.S. Western Hemisphere Affairs said that 'visa records are confidential under U.S. law; therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases.'
Colombia's Foreign Relations Ministry and the President's office did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to get into the specifics of Petro's claims during Tuesday's press briefing.
'Of course, we don't speak about direct individual visa issues. We – visa records are confidential for everyone. But we are aware of the reports; we're aware of what he said,' Bruce said.
In the event that Petro's visa was canceled, the Department of State would have formally communicated its decision.
Petro has clashed with the Trump, who threatened 'decisive retaliatory measures' against government officials over Petro's refusal to let two United States military flights full of migrants land in January.
The Colombian leader slammed the Trump administration for the alleged mistreatment of 160 people, who were handcuffed on the planes.
Trump snapped back by threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on incoming good and visa restrictions and sanctions and vowed to increase the tax by an additional 25 percent.
Petro responded by announcing U.S. imports would face a 25 percent tax before he eventually backed down and agreed to accept the migrants.
The last Colombian president who had his United States travel visa revoked was Ernesto Samper in July 1996.
Samper, who ruled from 1994 to 1998, was accused of accepting at least $6 million from drug cartels to fund his campaign and later cleared by lawmakers.