Colombian ex-foreign minister charged over nanny's lie detector test
Laura Sarabia is accused of ordering police to interrogate her nanny after cash allegedly went missing from her flat.
**Colombian ex-foreign minister charged over nanny's lie detector test**
Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her authority after she had her nanny undergo a lie detector test.
The controversy broke out in 2023, when Colombian news weekly Semana reported that a woman Sarabia had hired to care for her son had been connected to a polygraph and questioned about the alleged disappearance of a case containing cash from Sarabia's apartment.
At the time, Sarabia was chief of staff to President Gustavo Petro. She stepped down in June 2023, but was later named foreign minister and, after resigning from that role, Colombia's ambassador to the United Kingdom.
She has denied wrongdoing.
The 32-year-old was among Gustavo Petro's closest advisers. Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, was in office from 2022 until August this year.
Prosecutors said Sarabia misused her position as chief of staff by directing police to question her nanny, Marelbys Meza, about the alleged disappearance of cash said to total several thousands of dollars.
Meza told Semana that Sarabia's driver took her to an official building across from the presidential palace, describing the experience as "a kidnapping".
Police officers then attached her to a polygraph machine and questioned her about the alleged missing money.
Meza denied stealing any money during the test and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in media interviews since.
Prosecutors say Sarabia improperly used state resources by ordering police to question Meza over a matter unrelated to her official duties.
Sarabia rejected the allegation at a hearing, without offering further details.
Earlier, she said in a social media post that her lawyers were handling the matter and that she respected the judicial authorities and trusted their decisions.