In Colombia, the arc of accountability has bent toward a former confidante of power: Laura Sarabia, once chief of staff to President Gustavo Petro and later foreign minister, now faces formal charges for allegedly turning the machinery of the state against her own nanny. Prosecutors contend that in 2023 she ordered police to subject domestic worker Marelbys Meza to a polygraph interrogation over missing household cash — a private grievance dressed in the authority of public office. The case asks an enduring question that every society must answer: where does legitimate power end and its abuse
Colombian ex-foreign minister charged with abusing power over nanny's lie detector test
A domestic worker was subjected to coercive police interrogation and polygraph testing without apparent legal justification, describing the experience as feeling like a kidnapping.
It felt like a kidnapping, the nanny said of being driven to the building.
Mark
So Sarabia was the president's right hand, and she used police to interrogate her nanny over missing money. That's the core of it?
Mimi
Yes. She was chief of staff to Petro when it happened in 2023. She ordered police to take the nanny to a government building and hook her up to a polygraph machine.
Luke
But we should be clear: the money was allegedly missing. We don't know if it actually disappeared or if Sarabia had a legitimate reason to suspect theft.
Mimi
That's fair. But even if the money did go missing, the question is whether a government official should be using state police resources to investigate a personal matter.
Mark
And the nanny—Marelbys Meza—what was her experience like?
Mimi
She described being driven there by Sarabia's driver and said it felt like a kidnapping. She was questioned on the polygraph and denied stealing anything. She's maintained that ever since.
Luke
The polygraph itself is worth noting. Those tests are coercive and unreliable, and they're typically used in criminal investigations. Using one on a household employee over a civil dispute is unusual.
Mark
Did Sarabia face any consequences at the time, or did this just come out years later?
Mimi
The story broke in June 2023, and Sarabia resigned as chief of staff that same month. But then she was appointed foreign minister, which is a promotion.
Luke
So she wasn't immediately sidelined. She continued in high office.
Mimi
Right. She only left the foreign minister role later and became ambassador to the UK. Now, years after the incident, she's being formally charged.
Mark
What's her defense?
Mimi
She's denied wrongdoing, but she hasn't provided details. She said her lawyers are handling it and that she trusts the judicial process.
Luke
Which is a statement that says almost nothing about what actually happened or why she did it.
Il Polso
- A domestic worker was driven to an official government building, connected to a lie detector, and questioned by police — an experience she described as feeling like a kidnapping, with no apparent legal warrant to justify it.
- The stark asymmetry at the heart of the case — a senior official with direct access to state police versus a household employee with no institutional protection — has galvanized public debate about how power is misused in private.
- Sarabia's trajectory after the scandal became public was itself remarkable: she resigned as chief of staff only to be promoted to foreign minister, then named ambassador to the United Kingdom, suggesting accountability was slow to arrive.
- Prosecutors have now formally charged her with abusing her position, arguing that state resources were weaponized for a personal dispute entirely outside the scope of her official duties.
- Sarabia has denied wrongdoing but offered no substantive defense of her conduct, leaving her sparse social media statement and courtroom silence to speak for her as the case moves forward.
In Colombia, the arc of accountability has bent toward a former confidante of power: Laura Sarabia, once chief of staff to President Gustavo Petro and later foreign minister, now faces formal charges for allegedly turning the machinery of the state against her own nanny. Prosecutors contend that in 2023 she ordered police to subject domestic worker Marelbys Meza to a polygraph interrogation over missing household cash — a private grievance dressed in the authority of public office. The case asks an enduring question that every society must answer: where does legitimate power end and its abuse begin, and who bears the cost when that line is crossed by those closest to the summit?
Laura Sarabia was once among the most powerful figures in Colombia — a 32-year-old chief of staff with direct access to President Gustavo Petro and command over state institutions. Now she faces formal charges for allegedly turning those institutions against her own nanny.
Prosecutors allege that in 2023, Sarabia ordered police to interrogate domestic worker Marelbys Meza using a polygraph machine over the alleged disappearance of several thousand dollars in cash from her apartment. Meza was driven by Sarabia's personal driver to an official government building across from the presidential palace, where officers connected her to a lie detector and questioned her about the missing money. She described the experience as feeling like a kidnapping. She denied the theft then, and has maintained her innocence in every interview since.
The story broke publicly in June 2023 through the Colombian news weekly Semana. Sarabia resigned as chief of staff shortly after — but rather than recede from public life, she was appointed foreign minister, and later named ambassador to the United Kingdom. The promotions made the eventual charges all the more striking.
The legal case rests on a clear principle: state machinery exists to serve public ends, not private grievances. By directing police to conduct an interrogation and administer a polygraph in a personal dispute, Sarabia allegedly crossed the line that separates legitimate government authority from its abuse. The charge carries particular weight because of who she was — someone with institutional reach and proximity to the presidency.
Meza's ordeal also throws into relief the vulnerability of domestic workers when their employers hold significant power. She faced coercive investigative tools typically reserved for criminal proceedings, apparently without any formal legal process. Sarabia, for her part, has denied wrongdoing but offered no detailed defense of her conduct.
The prosecution marks a notable accountability moment within Petro's administration, which ended in August of this year. Whether conviction follows remains uncertain — but in a country where abuse of power by senior officials has historically gone unpunished, the formal charges alone represent something worth noting.
Laura Sarabia, once one of Colombia's most powerful officials, now faces formal charges for abusing her position to investigate a personal matter through state police resources. Prosecutors allege that in 2023, while serving as chief of staff to President Gustavo Petro, Sarabia ordered police to interrogate her nanny, Marelbys Meza, using a polygraph machine over the alleged disappearance of several thousand dollars in cash from Sarabia's apartment.
The incident became public in June 2023 when the Colombian news weekly Semana reported the details. According to Meza's account to the publication, she was driven by Sarabia's driver to an official government building located across from the presidential palace. The experience, she said, felt like a kidnapping. Once there, police officers connected her to a lie detector and questioned her about the missing money. Meza denied the theft during the test and has maintained her innocence in every media interview since.
Sarabia, then 32 years old, was among President Petro's closest advisers in his administration, which began in 2022. After the polygraph incident became public, she resigned from her position as chief of staff in June 2023. Rather than fade from public life, she was subsequently appointed as Colombia's foreign minister, a significant promotion. She later left that role as well and was named ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The core of the prosecutors' case rests on a straightforward claim: Sarabia misused state machinery and resources to investigate a private dispute that had nothing to do with her official duties. By ordering police to conduct the interrogation and administer the polygraph test, she allegedly crossed a line that separates legitimate government action from the abuse of power. The charge carries weight precisely because of who Sarabia was at the time—someone with direct access to the president and command over state institutions.
Sarabia has denied any wrongdoing. During a hearing on the charges, she rejected the accusation but offered no detailed explanation of her actions. In an earlier social media statement, she said her legal team was handling the matter and expressed her respect for judicial authorities and confidence in their decisions. The statement was notably spare, offering no substantive defense of her conduct.
Meza's experience illuminates the vulnerability of domestic workers in situations where their employers hold significant power. She was subjected to police interrogation and polygraph testing—coercive investigative tools typically reserved for criminal investigations—apparently without any formal legal process or warrant. The asymmetry was stark: a government official with access to state police versus a household employee with no institutional protection.
The case also marks a moment of accountability within Petro's administration. Petro himself governed until August of this year, making way for a new president. Sarabia's prosecution suggests that even officials close to the highest levels of government are not insulated from legal consequences for their actions. Whether the charges will result in conviction remains uncertain, but the formal accusation itself represents a significant step in a country where abuse of power by high-ranking officials has historically gone unpunished.
Citazioni salienti
Meza described being taken to an official building and said the experience felt like a kidnapping— Marelbys Meza, in reporting to Semana
Sarabia said her lawyers were handling the matter and that she respected judicial authorities and trusted their decisions— Laura Sarabia, in a social media statement
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Politics & Governance