Phone Tapping, Stolen Cash and Polygraph Scandal Roils Colombian Government
- Prosecutors add illegal phone tapping to alleged abuses
- Petro announces Sarabia, Benedetti to leave government
Gustavo Petro
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
President Gustavo Petro’s chief of staff and Colombia’s ambassador to Venezuela stepped down amid a widening probe into allegations of phone tapping and abuse of power, delivering another blow to an administration already reeling from legislative setbacks.
Petro announced Friday that Chief of Staff Laura Sarabia and ambassador Armando Benedetti will leave the government to ensure the credibility of the investigation, although he denied any involvement of his government in illegal interception of communications.