BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that accusations by his former foreign minister that he is a drug addict are slander, after the ex-official published a letter recounting an incident he alleges took place in France.
Alvaro Leyva, who was foreign minister for nearly two years until May 2024, said in a lengthy public letter posted on X on Wednesday that Petro had "disappeared" for two days during an official visit to France in 2023. The letter also alleged that the president has "a drug addiction problem."
Leyva provided no evidence to support his claims and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters has no independent information corroborating the accusations.
"Put simply, I've been slandered," Petro said on X late on Wednesday, adding in a separate post that during the 2023 visit he had been spending time with his eldest daughter and her family, who live in France.
Petro's daughter, Andrea, also posted on X, saying he had been with her family.
Petro's office did not immediately respond to a message seeking further comment.
Leyva, an 82-year-old conservative, was appointed by leftist Petro when he took office in August 2022 and said in his letter that he felt the president's ability to govern was being affected by several ongoing situations, including what he said was Petro's use of his speeches to "incite a class war."
Colombia's former justice minister, Wilson Ruiz, said on Wednesday he had asked the investigative committee of the lower house to look in to Petro's mental and physical health because of the alleged drug use.
Contact information for Ruiz was not immediately available.
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
