Laura Sarabia speaks about Alfredo Saade: "He ordered a delay in scheduling appointments to enforce passports."

Laura Sarabia , who resigned from her post as foreign minister, leveled accusations against Alfredo Saade , the incoming chief of staff in President Gustavo Petro's government . Sarabia told Cambio magazine that Saade "ordered" a delay in passport appointments.

Sarabia opted to step down from the government amid the controversial process for issuing passports for millions of Colombians . In a letter, he stated that "decisions have been made" that he does not agree with.

Now, he explained to Cambio that he was surprised to see Saade "proclaim himself the leader and spokesperson" on the passport issue , "which is the exclusive responsibility of the Foreign Ministry."

Sarabia accused the new chief of staff of "dynamiting" the work carried out by the Foreign Ministry to ensure the normal processing of passports . He said the National Printing Office is not prepared to handle the printing of documents, as the government has requested.

In fact, he went further and emphasized that when the contract with the multinational Thomas Greg & Sons , the current issuer of passports, ends, there would be a crisis.

Sarabia insisted that it is not true that Portugal is ready to sign a contract after the end of the agreement with Thomas Greg & Sons, so the document's processing would remain in limbo: "The trade agreement with Portugal has been worked on, but there are still aspects that need to be assessed."

"If the path laid out by Alfredo Saade is followed, it's certain that when the contract with Thomas Greg expires, Colombians will be left without passports ," he opined in Cambio .

And she added: "I am not willing to deceive Gustavo Petro and the country by maintaining the lie that the Printing Press will be ready within two months to assume the responsibility of printing, personalizing, and transporting around 8,000 passports daily."

She also said that, in response to the change in the printing model, Saade met "impromptu" with the Foreign Ministry team to give them instructions that ran counter to hers.

"My team told me that Mr. Saade ordered them to delay scheduling appointments to 'stretch' the remaining passport stock . When I asked him why he dared to give such an instruction, he replied that delaying appointments for people was fine and that the passport stock would last longer," he stated.

Foreign Minister Sarabia revealed to Cambio that she is leaving the government due to "disagreement" with President Petro's order regarding the issuance of passports.

"The president's orders are carried out. The difference lies in how they are applied without losing sight of principles and legality. The president has never asked me to commit a crime. (...) I'm leaving because in the event of a disagreement between a president and a minister, the minister has to leave ," he emphasized.

Saade did not comment on the outgoing chancellor's remarks.

"It has been a demanding journey, with enormous personal and family costs, but also a deeply enriching one. I leave with immense gratitude for the historic opportunity to serve Colombia under your government, with valuable lessons learned, many of them yours, and with the intact conviction that this country deserves a more just, more dignified, and more humane future," he said.

In the letter, she expressed her wish for "a successful close of government" and announced to the President that in her he "will always find" an "interlocutor open to dialogue , respectful debate, and the search for solutions to the great challenges facing our society."

In response to her resignation letter, the head of state called her an "organizing ant" and wished her "the best of luck."

"I think she was vital to the campaign for her order and discipline. She was always firmly part of the action team to which she belonged: I as a speaker and candidate, and she as the organizing ant," President Petro commented in a message on his X social media account.

LATEST NEWS EDITORIAL