Colombian Former Foreign Minister Charged for Illegally Ordering Nanny's Polygraph Interrogation

Laura Sarabia, who served as Chief of Staff to President Gustavo Petro before her ministerial appointment, has been formally charged by Colombian prosecutors. The indictment alleges that Sarabia directed state security personnel to subject her former nanny, Marelbys Meza, to an illegal polygraph examination. This coercive interrogation, which took place in January 2023, was reportedly prompted by the disappearance of a briefcase containing thousands of US dollars from Sarabia's Bogotá residence.

Prosecutors maintain that Meza was held in an underground bunker near the presidential palace, where she underwent a polygraph test without legal counsel or a warrant. This facility, typically used for national security matters, was allegedly repurposed to intimidate a domestic employee. The state's case asserts that Sarabia exploited her position to deploy state resources in a personal dispute, a clear abuse of authority.

This case underscores a pattern of unaccountable power within Colombia's political establishment, where individuals connected to government are perceived to operate with impunity. It follows other high-profile incidents where domestic workers have been targeted under dubious pretexts, often leveraging state apparatus to resolve private matters. The formal charges against Sarabia represent a rare instance of an official being held to account for such alleged misconduct, providing a critical test of Colombia's judicial independence.