“There was no abuse of power”: the Presidency came out in defense of Laura Sarabia
From the Headquarters for the Presidential Protection of the Republic of Colombia rejected the accusations made in the magazine Semana against Laura Sarabia and they delivered an official version of what happened where they assure that they acted with the law in hand.
“The Head of the Presidential Office was the victim of a theft at her residence in January 2023. On the 29th of that same month, the respective criminal complaint was filed with the competent authorities. In accordance with the legal architecture that governs the security of high-ranking officials of the Colombian State, established in Decree 2647 of 2022, when there are incidents that violate their security and that of their environment, all the actions provided for in Decree 1066 of 2015 are immediately activated”.
They assure that it was not a common or domestic robbery, but something that could put the risk, according to them, of national security: “The above, in order to establish porosities or risk situations, not only individual but of national security, however the circle of people that surrounds high officials can compromiseFor example, access to classified information.
Also: Laura Sarabia responds to accusations from her babysitter
They reiterate that at no time was there an abuse of power and they rejected the versions that were generated from Semana Magazine: “We reject versions of alleged abuses of power, misuse of public resources and mistreatment of defenseless people. The procedures were carried out in the offices of the Headquarters for Presidential Protection, visible, duly identified and arranged in that same location for many years ago.
They assure that, to prove this, all the evidence is already in the hands of the judicial authorities: “The reliability procedures carried out for all the people in the circle of the Head of the Presidential Office have all the authorizations required by law and They consist of audio and video in the custody of the Presidential Protection Headquarters, and are available to all competent authorities.”
New version of the theft of seven thousand dollars from Laura Sarabia
Finally, it is worth noting that Laura Sarabia also clarified that it was not a suitcase full of money what was stolen from his house and that it was more like money that he had to pay for official travel expenses.
“Regarding the theft of which my family was a victim and I reported it to the authorities in a timely manner, I report that it was for a sum in dollars not exceeding USD 7,000corresponding to payments of official travel expenses made during August 2022 and January 2023 and that are delivered to us in that foreign currency,” said Sarabia.
In addition, he said that this money was legal and its origin could be verified: “In any case, it is NOT true that a suitcase full of money had been stolen, which is known to the authorities who were aware of the procedures. It is important to highlight that the traceability of resources and the per diem policy non-reimbursable are under the responsibility of the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic”.
