In a decision that has shaken the political sphere, the Attorney General’s Office (PNG) has provisionally suspended the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Álvaro Leyva, for three months. The measure was taken after a statement of charges was formulated against him for possible irregularities during the passport bidding process.
The Public Ministry has called the chancellor for disciplinary proceedings, alleging that he had incurred two disciplinary offenses provisionally classified as very serious and committed by way of fraud. The first accusation is based on the declaration of void tender 001 of 2023, without having the necessary factual, legal and technical foundations, which could have violated the principles that regulate state contracting.
Secondly, he is charged for allegedly decreeing manifest urgency during the contractual process without apparent causes to make said determination.
The Disciplinary Investigation Chamber justified the provisional suspension by arguing the need to avoid the possible repetition of the disciplinary offenses attributed to Leyva. This, especially considering his role as organizer of the Foreign Ministry’s spending and his responsibility as director of the new contractual process underway for passport management.
The measure does not affect the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, José Antonio Salazar Ramírez, whose investigation was archived by the entity. The PNG found no evidence of his involvement in possible irregularities linked to the bidding process.
The suspension of Álvaro Leyva has generated an intense debate in the political landscape, with various voices expressing conflicting opinions about the measure taken by the Attorney General’s Office. Citizens are waiting attentively for the development of the disciplinary trial and the final resolution of this case that involves the main representative of the country’s foreign relations.