Colombian ex-foreign minister accused over nannys lie detector test

Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her power after she made her nanny take a lie detector test.

The scandal erupted in 2023, when Colombian news weekly Semana reported that a woman Sarabia had employed to look after her son had been hooked up to a polygraph and questioned over the alleged disappearance of a case full of cash from Sarabia’s flat.

Sarabia, who was the chief of staff for President Gustavo Petro at the time, resigned in June 2023 but was later appointed as foreign minister and, following her resignation from that post, as Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.

She has denied any wrongdoing.

The 32-year-old was one of the closest advisers of Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president, who governed from 2022 to August this year.

Prosecutors said Sarabia abused her position as his chief of staff by ordering police to question her nanny, Marelbys Meza, over the alleged disappearance of the cash, which was said to amount to several thousands of dollars.

Meza told Semana that she was taken by Sarabia’s driver to an official building opposite the presidential palace, saying it felt like “a kidnapping”.

Police officers then attached her to a polygraph machine and questioned her about the alleged disappearance of the money.

Meza denied having stolen any money during the test, and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in media interviews since.

Prosecutors allege that in ordering police to question Meza, Sarabia improperly used state resources to investigate a matter which was not related to her official post.

Sarabia rejected the accusation during a hearing, without going into further details.

She had earlier said in a social media post that her lawyers were dealing with the issue and that she respected the judicial authorities and trusted their decisions.