A years-long political controversy in Colombia reignited this week when national prosecutors formally filed abuse of power charges against Laura Sarabia, a former top official and close ally of the country’s first leftist president Gustavo Petro. The charges stem from a 2023 incident that first upended Sarabia’s political career, when she allegedly leveraged her official position to force her former nanny into a coercive polygraph test over a missing cash dispute.
The scandal first broke to the public in 2023 via reporting from Colombian news weekly *Semana*, which revealed that Sarabia — then serving as President Petro’s chief of staff — had arranged for her employee Marelbys Meza, the woman hired to care for Sarabia’s young son, to be hooked up to a law enforcement polygraph. The investigation targeted Meza over claims that a briefcase holding thousands of dollars in cash had gone missing from Sarabia’s personal residence.
Meza, who has repeatedly denied any involvement in the alleged theft, told *Semana* she was transported by Sarabia’s personal driver to an official government building directly across from the presidential palace, an experience she described as feeling identical to a kidnapping. Once at the facility, active police officers administered the polygraph exam and interrogated her about the missing funds. She passed the test with a negative result, confirming her denial of wrongdoing, and has stood by that account in all subsequent public comments.
Following the initial reporting of the incident in June 2023, Sarabia stepped down from her post as chief of staff. However, her political career did not end there: just over 18 months later, she was appointed to the role of Colombia’s foreign minister, a position she held from January through July 2025. After resigning from the foreign ministry, Petro appointed her as Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, a post she still holds as of this reporting. At 32 years old, Sarabia has long been counted among President Petro’s most trusted and senior advisors, throughout his full term in office which concluded in August 2026.
Prosecutors formalizing the charges this week outlined their core accusation: by arranging for active police personnel and state-owned law enforcement equipment to investigate a private personal dispute unrelated to her official government duties, Sarabia intentionally misused public resources and abused the authority of her elected office. Sarabia has issued a flat denial of all wrongdoing in response to the charges. During her initial court hearing on the case, she rejected the accusations without offering additional comment. Prior to the hearing, she posted a statement to social media noting that her legal team was handling the proceedings, adding that she respects Colombia’s judicial system and has confidence in the integrity of its final decision.