Colombian nanny wiretap scandal takes ever stranger plot twists

BOGOTA - A political scandal in Colombia that erupted with claims of the alleged illegal wiretapping of a presidential aide’s nanny comes to a head this week, with those involved due to give evidence to prosecutors.

The case has drawn in President Gustavo Petro and has been blamed for the apparent suicide last week of a policeman attached to his security.

For a week starting on Thursday, officials including Mr Petro’s former chief of staff Laura Sarabia and former ambassador to Venezuela Armando Benedetti will appear before prosecutors investigating the case, it was announced on Tuesday.

The saga has gripped Colombian society with all the elements of a soap opera: claims of blackmail, stolen dollars in a briefcase, kidnapping, lie detector tests and campaign fraud.

The claims have seen Ms Sarabia and Mr Benedetti – two key Petro aides – forced to step down, only for one of them to level allegations of illegal campaign financing against the President himself.

It all started with Ms Marelbys Meza, a nanny employed by Ms Sarabia, claiming to a newspaper that she had been the victim of illegal phone tapping following the disappearance of a briefcase containing thousands of dollars from her boss’ house.

To gain access to her calls, a false report was allegedly used to link her to organised crime, according to Attorney-General Francisco Barbosa, who opened an investigation.

Ms Meza has also accused her former employer of having her subjected to illegal interrogation and a lie detector test in January at a building attached to the presidential palace in Bogota.

The revelations caused Ms Sarabia and Mr Benedetti to hurl accusations of wrongdoing at one another.

Ms Meza had previously worked as a nanny for Mr Benedetti, and Ms Sarabia accused him of setting her up.

As the case spiralled, Mr Benedetti threatened Ms Sarabia with exposing alleged illegal financing of Mr Petro’s campaign, of which he had been a key adviser.

Then on Friday, police lieutenant-colonel Oscar Davila was found dead in his car in Bogota, allegedly from a self-inflicted bullet wound.

Mr Petro alluded to a suicide, and Colombian media reported that Mr Davila may have been somehow involved in the alleged wiretapping of Ms Meza.

Mr Davila’s lawyer Miguel Angel del Rio said his client had felt “persecuted” and “threatened”.

Investigators from the prosecutor’s office have twice visited the presidency in the course of the investigation, including Mr Davila’s office on the 13th floor of a building annexed to the presidency.

Mr Barbosa said on Tuesday that the protagonists in the case have all been summoned to give evidence.

Hearings will start on Thursday with Mr Davila’s lawyer and the head of presidential security, Colonel Carlos Feria Buitrago, giving evidence in relation to the policeman’s death.

In connection with the alleged disappearance of the suitcase, Ms Sarabia herself has been called to testify on June 22.

On June 20 and 21, six people are due to give evidence related to the alleged illegal wiretapping, including four members of the presidential security team and Ms Sarabia’s husband.

On the last day, June 23, Mr Benedetti has been called to explain his campaign financing claims, said the Attorney-General.

Mr Benedetti had sought to blame “rage and drink” for his recorded, expletive-riddled rant against Ms Sarabia, which was made public by the La Revista Semana newspaper.

The scandal comes at a time of strained relations between Mr Petro and Mr Barbosa, who was appointed by the president’s rightwing predecessor.

Mr Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has accused the Attorney-General of acting against his “change” agenda.

The President has denied any impropriety. AFP