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Colombian judicial authorities have formally brought criminal charges against former foreign minister Laura Sarabia, accusing the high-profile political figure of abuse of power. The legal action centers on allegations that she unlawfully compelled her domestic employee to undergo a polygraph examination following the disappearance of money from her private residence.
The formal indictment represents a major escalation in a high-profile controversy that has cast a shadow over Colombia's political landscape since it first came to light in 2023. At the heart of the prosecution's case is the assertion that state resources and law enforcement personnel were improperly deployed to handle a purely domestic and personal grievance.
According to prosecutors, the incident began when a briefcase containing several thousand dollars in cash reportedly vanished from Sarabia's private apartment. Rather than relying solely on standard legal channels, Sarabia is accused of using her high-ranking government position to initiate an extraordinary security response.
At the center of the confrontation was Marelbys Meza, a domestic worker who had been employed by Sarabia to take care of her young son. Meza quickly became the prime suspect in the disappearance of the missing funds, prompting an aggressive inquiry orchestrated by government officials.
The controversy originally erupted into public view when the Colombian news weekly Semana published a detailed exposé detailing Meza’s treatment. The report revealed how the domestic worker was subjected to coercive investigative methods typically reserved for matters of national security or formal criminal proceedings.
Meza recounted that she was transported by Sarabia's official government driver to a state-owned administrative building located directly across from Colombia's presidential palace. Describing the harrowing journey and the environment surrounding the inquiry, Meza told Semana that the entire experience felt equivalent to a kidnapping.
Upon arriving at the government facility, police officers placed Meza into an interrogation room and physically attached her to a lie detector machine. The law enforcement personnel proceeded to question her intensely about the missing cash and her movements inside the residence.
Throughout the polygraph examination, Meza adamantly maintained that she had not taken any money from the residence. In the months and years following the initial ordeal, she has consistently reaffirmed her complete innocence across numerous public appearances and interviews with the media.
Prosecutors handling the case argue that Sarabia's decision to order police personnel to subject Meza to a polygraph test constituted a clear breach of official authority. The state asserts that deploying national police officers and institutional facilities to investigate private losses represented an illegal diversion of public resources for personal interests.
For her part, Sarabia appeared before a judicial hearing to firmly reject the accusations presented by prosecutors. During the proceedings, the former minister denied committing any crime or misusing her office, though she refrained from offering extensive details regarding her defense.
Sarabia had previously addressed the unfolding legal proceedings in a public statement shared on social media. In that message, she noted that her legal representatives were actively managing her defense, emphasizing her enduring respect for the judicial system and her confidence in the decisions of the court.
Now 32 years old, Sarabia rose to prominence as one of the closest and most influential political advisers to Gustavo Petro. Petro made history upon taking office in 2022 as Colombia's first left-wing president, leading the South American nation until the conclusion of his term in August of this year.
The controversy surrounding Meza's interrogation severely rattled the Petro administration when the details first emerged in mid-2023. Under intense public pressure and media scrutiny, Sarabia stepped down from her influential post as the president's chief of staff in June 2023.
Despite the initial fallout, Sarabia remained a central figure within Petro’s political circle and eventually returned to high-level governance. She was subsequently appointed to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving as Colombia's foreign minister from January to July 2025.
Following her departure from the foreign ministry earlier this year, Sarabia was assigned to another prestigious diplomatic position as Colombia's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Her enduring diplomatic career has kept her in the international spotlight even as domestic legal investigations into her past conduct continued to progress.
The filing of formal charges against the former minister underscores the enduring legal consequences of the 2023 scandal. As the judicial process moves forward, the case will test the boundaries of executive authority and institutional accountability in Colombia.
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