Laura Sarabia, one of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s closest allies, resigned on Thursday from her post as foreign minister, citing disagreements with recent government decisions—particularly as the administration faces a contentious decision over a multi-million-dollar passport contract.
“In recent days, decisions have been made that I do not agree with and that, out of personal coherence and institutional respect, I cannot support,” Sarabia stated in a letter addressed to President Petro and posted on her X account (formerly Twitter). She did not specify which decisions prompted her resignation.
This marks the second time Sarabia has left a high-ranking position in Petro’s government. In June 2023, she stepped down as chief of staff after her former nanny alleged she had been forced to take a polygraph test following the disappearance of a briefcase containing U.S. dollars from Sarabia’s home. That case remains under judicial investigation and has implicated police officers in the alleged illegal wiretapping of the nanny’s phone.
Since Petro took office in 2022 as Colombia’s first leftist president, Sarabia has held several key roles: she served as chief of staff, director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency, head of the Department of Social Prosperity, and, since February, as foreign minister.
“The most important part of my public life has unfolded at his side,” Sarabia wrote in her farewell, also wishing Petro a “successful end to his administration.”
Her departure comes amid internal government tensions over the awarding of the contract for passport production, which has been handled for the past decade by Thomas Greg & Sons. Sarabia supported extending that contract, arguing that the National Printing Office—Petro’s proposed alternative in partnership with Portugal’s Mint—was not yet ready to take over.
However, her position was publicly overruled by the new chief of staff, Alfredo Saade, who announced that a deal with Portugal would move forward to begin preparing the National Printing Office to issue passports without delays.
The contract has been at the center of controversy since former foreign minister Álvaro Leyva was suspended by Colombia’s Inspector General over alleged irregularities in the bidding process, which is valued at approximately $150 million.
