The last few weeks have been very tense for the Petro government, after Marelbys Meza, the former babysitter of the until then chief of staff, Laura Sarabia, assured that she had to undergo a polygraph test when she was suspected of the theft of a large sum of money from the former head of the presidential cabinet.
The matter did not end there, because it was later revealed that they had illegally intercepted the Marelbys Meza telephone line. Due to such a scandal, Sarabia and the former Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, left their public positions.
As if it were a movie, the plot took a new turn after revealing on June 4 some audios in which Benedetti threatened Sarabia and assured that thanks to him Gustavo Petro had won the elections. The leaks revealed by Semana magazine not only aroused the indignation and concern of various national political sectors, but also the curiosity of the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who with a trill launched a pod at the Colombian president.
Bukele, after revealing the audio scandal, trilled a question: “Everything okay at home?” next to an upside down happy face emoji. Despite the fact that he did not write anything else regarding Colombia, Internet users related the words to the Petro government, since it was the same phrase trilled after the controversy that the son of the Colombian president, Nicolás Petro, had unleashed on the alleged income of illegal money to his father’s campaign.
Relations between the presidents of Colombia and El Salvador have been tense due to the constant questioning made from both sectors; precisely one of the most recent was indicated by the Minister of Justice and Public Security of El Salvador, Gustavo Villatoro, in one of the Seventh Day broadcasts of Caracol Television.
The statements by Bukele’s minister came after watching a video of the leader of ‘Los Rastrojos’, alias ‘el negro Óber’, who was detained in a Santander prison and while wearing jewelry and apparently smoking marijuana threatened the Officials of the General Prosecutor’s Office: “Gentlemen Prosecutor’s Office, with all the respect in the world. If you don’t mind taking my innocent people, like my wife, neither do I (…) I’m going to kill you merchant by merchant”.
Minister Villatoro was blunt when responding to the Colombian media: “That is part of what we have lived here for more than 20 years, which shows that it is a failed government and state, it shows that there are no strong and courageous institutions, because that type of of demonstrations in El Salvador now have no place”.
The responses of Petro and Benedetti
In view of the recordings revealed by Semana magazine, last Sunday, June 4, of what would be a telephone conversation in which the suspended ambassador to Venezuela threatened Laura Sarabia with revealing what would be the irregular origin of the financing on the Caribbean Coast of the campaign that brought Gustavo Petro to the presidency, the now president published a statement in which he asked him to go before the accusing body and deepen his claims.
“I think I understand what is happening to Armando Benedetti’s mind, I accept his apologies, but he must explain his words to the prosecutor’s office and the country (sic),” the head of state asked him.
According to what was said, apparently, by the also ex-congressman, a millionaire figure for the activities of the then aspirant has a shady origin.
“What I am telling you, Laura, is that this treatment (…) And yesterday the president: ‘no, no, it’s that I have a desire’. Aha, fagot, I held 100 meetings (…) 15,000 million pesos, what’s more, if it’s not for me they don’t win. So, even if it’s hypocritical, you go and receive people, but the treatment that you and the president gave me yesterday, fagot, I don’t know, also, what I’m going to tell you is not a threat (…) I see that This can emputate me, I kick you son of a bitch, and there we all fall, son of a bitch,” they quoted from the audios in the aforementioned media outlet.
Although Armando Benedetti has highlighted from his social networks that what was exposed by Semana is a “product of manipulation”: “The audios of Semana Magazine have been manipulated. I apologize to President Gustavo Petro and Laura Sarabia for the aggression and the malicious attack that does NOT come from me”. with Infobae