President Petro releases foreign minister amid crisis with the U.S. and other implications of Laura Sarabia's departure

Laura Sarabia is leaving Gustavo Petro's administration due to differences over the passport issue, and this time it seems she won't be returning soon, unlike her first departure, due to the dispute with then-ambassador Armando Benedetti and the scandal surrounding the nanny Marelbys Meza. While on that occasion the president called her his "beloved official," this time she gave him a cold farewell, even suggesting that she was driven by greed.

"We must put our hearts on the poorest, on what is just, and never allow ourselves to be conquered by greed. Greed is the enemy of the revolution and of life," was one of the excerpts from Gustavo Petro's farewell tweet to his foreign minister. In this way, the president broke with the person who had been his closest official for almost three years.

Relations had been strained since the beginning of the year, as evidenced by several clashes, with President Petro even disavowing her on various issues—the Silk Road documents. But the "straw that broke the camel's back" was the passport fabrication incident.

While Laura Sarabia warned that the printing house was not ready to take on this task and that the urgent need for the temporary joint venture led by Thomas Greg & Sons had to be extended, Gustavo Petro insisted and appointed the controversial Alfredo Saade, the new chief of staff—a position Sarabia held at the beginning of the administration—to lead the process.

Disavowed, Sarabia submitted her resignation letter this Thursday morning. "In recent days, decisions have been made that I do not agree with and that, out of personal consistency and institutional respect, I cannot support. These are not minor differences or who is right. This is a course of action that, with all the affection and respect I have for you, I am no longer able to implement," the letter reads.

Very few can be identified as Laura Sarabia's political allies. No sector in Congress could be clearly described as truly aligned with the current foreign minister. But even so, many have viewed her departure as a cause for concern. Both in her role as the president's right-hand woman and as foreign minister, Sarabia demonstrated efficiency, pragmatism, and openness to dialogue with various sectors. As one of President Gustavo Petro's agents, she built bridges for the president to speak with the business community and other sectors he has labeled as opponents.

While the president clashed with business leaders and took harsh jabs at them, Sarabia served as a bridge and interlocutor. An example of this was her leadership of the Guajira Mission, a collaboration between the business community and the government to address the needs of one of the departments that has historically suffered the greatest state neglect. She also mediated agreements such as the Credit Pact, the formula reached between the banking sector and the executive branch to avoid the controversial proposal of forced investments. She fostered a dialogue that the previous ministers of Finance and Industry and Commerce failed to achieve.

Given the loss of these channels of dialogue, various sectors consider the foreign minister's resignation a sign of the radicalization of the Petro cabinet. The fact is that few officials currently remaining in the government can be described as moderate and interested in establishing spaces for dialogue. Former Senator Humberto de la Calle held this view: "Laura Sarabia is leaving. She had no other choice. Saade is winning the battle. She was a grounding pole. The Last of the Mohicans?"

Manuel Camilo González, a professor at the Pontifical Javeriana University, described what has been seen in the final stretch of the Petro administration as "the second round of cabinet radicalization." The academic asserted that amid the ideological and political struggles that have taken place within the cabinet, Gustavo Petro himself has been a direct participant in the plan to purge his cabinet and remove those he does not see as 100 percent loyal to his positions.

"He has dedicated himself to pressuring and expelling several members of his cabinet considered moderates, whom he accuses of hindering his political agenda," González added. Along those lines, analyst Alejandro Chala tweeted: "This is why Laura Sarabia resigned. President Petro continues to demand very high levels of loyalty, which are reflected in the unrestricted compliance with his orders."

Under this logic, figures are being given way who, according to González, simply say "yes, sir" to President Petro, as was already evident in the recent upheaval. All those officials who were capable of contradicting the president's decision to bring Benedetti back into his inner circle have left the cabinet. Now, Sarabia, who was the one who raised objections to the president's attempt to completely remove Thomas Greg & Sons from the passport manufacturing equation and hand over the process to the Colombian Printing House in September, has left.

While Sarabia leaves with a frosty farewell from the president, a newcomer, Alfredo Saade, is gaining strength in the executive branch. The new chief of staff, questioned and opposed by broad sectors, demonstrates his ability to carry out controversial tasks, such as signing the passport agreement despite warnings that the printing press is not ready. He doesn't seek to dissent, but rather, as he said in his statement to the media, "I only know how to obey and make coffee."

Similarly, an official who was recognized for her efficiency in a cabinet that has recently been criticized for its inexperience, disorganization, and improvisation is leaving. Professor Jorge Iván Cuervo of the Externado University summarizes it this way: "Her management style contrasted with the usual situation with the President." Along these lines, he added that the president is risking his efforts to "loyalty and to have his ideas bought" and sacrificing effectiveness in his administration.

In addition to the impact on public administration, Sarabia's departure from the Foreign Ministry has several implications for the international order. Experts agree that it is not a good idea to be changing foreign representatives so frequently. He was only in office for five months, after Luis Gilberto Murillo resigned due to his presidential aspirations.

Added to this is the fact that Sarabia's resignation coincided with a new crisis with the United States. This time, the reasons are less clear, as only "unfounded and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Colombian government" are being referred to. However, this Thursday, it was revealed that the Donald Trump administration had recalled its representative in Colombia, Chargé d'Affaires John McNamara, for consultations.

President Petro responded reciprocally to Daniel García Peña's request to the country. Although the reasons for the outbreak of this new crisis are unclear, the absence of anyone at the helm of the Foreign Ministry only worsens the outlook for this complex relationship. Yann Basset, a professor at the Universidad del Rosario, explained that one of the tasks Sarabia's successor must assume is "to try to maintain the most normal relations with the United States." But this objective becomes difficult when a call for consultations was made without any clear reason.

It's not just the need for someone to officially head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It's also worth adding that Sarabia has had important contact with US authorities over the past five months. She was key to the smooth resolution of the tariff crisis with the United States after the Colombian president turned back a plane full of deportees. She then served as an interlocutor with several Trump administration officials. This loss marks the loss of an official who knew how to move quickly in the face of an unpredictable administration like Donald Trump's.

For the time being, as her departure has not been made official, the current chancellor is in talks with US authorities to clarify the facts of this new crisis. However, her imminent departure may mean that her role as a mediator will not have the same impact as on previous occasions. The authority of an outgoing official is not the same as that of a full-time official.

Everything that happened this Thursday, from Sarabia's resignation to the mutual recall of ambassadors for consultations, only worsens a situation that appears difficult and whose very likely outcome is the United States decertifying Colombia in the fight against drug trafficking. This decision, which Donald Trump must make in September, risks sanctions such as the suspension of economic and military aid, trade restrictions, and potential impacts on Colombia's perception among investors and international organizations, for example.

Much of the left, especially the most staunch, and the opposition, has welcomed Sarabia's departure.

She was opposed by a significant segment of the cabinet. Several times they called for her departure, as evidenced by the February 4 cabinet meeting, the first televised one. There, figures close to Petrismo opposed her, including Vice President Francia Márquez, Gustavo Bolívar, and Alexander López.

The hardline leftist faction of Gustavo Petro's cabinet never held Sarabia in high regard. There was even talk of an internal war between her and the director of the National Protection Unit (UNP), Augusto Rodríguez. From the beginning, they characterized her as unrelated to the project and questioned her political stances. Along these lines, they also went so far as to say that Sarabia had alienated the president from his cabinet and kept him closeted, due to the fact that she controlled his agenda, controlled his meetings, and even acted as his intermediary. This was a complaint they made privately and later publicly.

Upon his departure, Representative Pedro Suárez Vacca, of the Historic Pact, made the distance between the left and Sarabia evident. "She always had the President's trust, but she was also criticized for closing doors and generating internal tensions. May her departure allow the Government of Change to breathe new life and restore the tranquility that many of us had hoped for," he expressed. That a representative close to the government would speak out in this way demonstrates the lack of influence the official had within the party. No other former minister has had such a harsh farewell from their own congressmen.

"Laura was always an odd factor in the government," said analyst Jorge Iván Cuervo, referring to the differences between him and her. In this regard, he noted that she was criticized for her political origins and the role she played in seeking to "bring order to the president's decisions." For the academic, her youth and lack of political capital on the left began to create resistance that affected her throughout her various positions.

She wasn't well received by the opposition either. They criticized her for the scandals involving Marelbys Meza, the nanny, her involvement in an alleged scandal in the healthcare system, and her closeness to the President. For a long time, she was practically his shadow, and that's why they criticize her for her "loyalty" to the president.

What representative Julio César Triana of Cambio Radical said demonstrates the resistance she faced among those opposed to the government. “Laura Sarabia should never have been appointed foreign minister. She herself admitted to having no training or experience in international relations, which reflects the government's lack of interest in strengthening Colombian diplomacy with qualified candidates. Her time in the Foreign Ministry was marked by improvisation, silence in the face of international crises, and, finally, by her resignation amid a controversial decision she herself questioned: handing over the issuance of passports to the National Printing Office.”

To this list of distant associates, we must add the Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti. It was he who brought her into President Petro's inner circle. Sarabia worked at Benedetti's UTL (Urban Development Unit) during the 2018-2022 term, and the then-senator included her in the current president's presidential campaign. It was there that she demonstrated what Petro described this Thursday as "order and discipline." Given her prominent role, and on the advice of Verónica Alcocer, Petro appointed her as his chief of staff. While she became closer to the president, Benedetti was "banished" to the embassy in Venezuela. There began a dispute that continues to this day and, for the moment, shows Benedetti as the winner. She resigned, and instead, this is the Minister of the Interior, who was entrusted with two important executive branch projects: politically organizing the 2026 elections and advancing the proposal for a constituent assembly.

Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado