A carefully worded, four-page letter is sending shockwaves through Colombia’s political establishment, after former Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva accused President Gustavo Petro of drug addiction and the cause of his erratic conduct, calling into question the leader’s ability to govern. Leyva, a veteran statesman and lifelong conservative known for his work on peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla, did not mince words.
“It was in Paris where I could confirm that you had the problem of drug addiction,” Leyva wrote, referring to an official trip to France in June 2023 during which Petro reportedly vanished from his delegation’s activities for two days. “Your recovery has unfortunately not taken place.”
Leyva’s letter, released Wednesday on the social media platform “X”, came just a day after Petro claimed that the U.S. government under President Donald Trump had revoked his travel visa – a declaration that remains unverified by the U.S. Department of State. The back-to-back developments have triggered another turbulent week in the Petro presidency.
An enigmatic figure in Colombian politics, Leyva, 82, has long defied easy categorization. Though a member of the traditionally conservative elites, he spent decades advocating for negotiated peace with leftist guerrilla groups, including the M-19 — in which Petro was a middle-ranking militant. His career has been marked by a unique duality: a conservative lawyer and intellectual who maintained open channels with Marxist insurgents in the name of national reconciliation. In 2016, Leyva lent decisive support to President Juan Manuel Santos’ Final Accord that culminated in the historic peace deal between FARC and the Colombian government.
The errudite missive, however, strikes a sharply different tone – one of profound disillusionment.
“Your disappearances, late arrivals, unacceptable absences, meaningless trips, incoherent phrases, and questionable company… have been registered and continue to be registered,” Leyva wrote. He described Petro’s conduct as that of someone consumed by “frequent periods of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and other hard-to-overcome conditions.”
In one of the letter’s most pointed passages, Leyva warns his former superior that “your days in government will be remembered for chaos and improvisation.” The former diplomat also alleges that the president’s closest aides — Interior Minister Armando Benedetti and current Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia — “look the other way” and that “truth has become uncomfortable, and those who speak it are treated as enemies.”
Petro, who has previously made headlines for calling cocaine “no worse than whisky” and advocating for its legalization, responded flippantly to Leyva’s words. “Aren’t there parks, museums, bookstores in Paris that are more interesting than the writer?” the president remarked. “Almost everything in Paris is more interesting. Don’t I have daughters and granddaughters there who are far more interesting than the author?”
While Petro has deflected the issue of substance abuse, Leyva’s charge has landed with force amid an already fraught moment for the presidency. The unverified visa revocation claim has sparked diplomatic speculation, underscoring Petro’s increasing isolation on the world stage. According to Leyva, “Colombia needs unity, not chaos.”
Leyva’s letter has reenergized the opposition as the country begins gearing up for a campaign to elect Petro’s successor in 2026. Congressman Christian Garcés of the right-wing Democratic Center party urged the formation of a medical tribunal to assess the president’s capacity to govern. “The Senate should declare his permanent physical incapacity and remove him from office if the results indicate he is unfit,” Garcés said. Senator María Fernanda Cabal echoed that demand, calling for immediate toxicological and psychological tests.
Rumors about Petro’s alleged drug use have swirled for years, particularly as he’s gained a reputation for missing public appearances and posting cryptic messages in the early hours of the morning. In November 2023, when columnist María Jimena Duzán asked directly whether he used any substance, Petro responded wryly: “My only addiction is to coffee in the mornings.”
For many observers, Leyva’s respectful, yet unapologetic letter, represents not only a personal rupture between two men once aligned in the cause of social change, but also a broader crisis of governance. Petro’s presidency has faltered under legislative defeats, a fragmented coalition, deep security crisis, and embattled diplomatic relations with the United States and Israel.
Perhaps most jarring is the fact that this latest accusation comes not from a bitter rival, but from a man who has staunchly defended the leftist agenda and assumed the Foreign Ministry with aspirations to represent Petro as a “continental leader of hope.” Leyva’s message is all the more devastating because it comes from within the president’s own orbit — a reminder of how close ideologues can become fierce critics when confronted with betrayal.
“You do not adequately measure the impact of your words,” Leyva warned Petro. “And from your position as Head of State, that is an abuse of power.”
For a president long seen as a political disruptor, this week has offered yet another disruption — one that may prove harder to ignore than the deafening silence from Washington.
