Leyva sought U.S. support to oust Petro
June 30, 2025
Colombian politician Alberto Leyva sought U.S. support to overthrow Colombian President Gustavo Petro. He made the case to close allies of U.S. President Donald Trump that Petro is unfit to govern, and should be removed from office before next year’s general elections, reports El País, based on recordings and interviews with congressional Republican sources. The sources said the Trump administration never considered supporting proposal.
In one recording Leyva, who served as foreign minister under Petro, called for a broad coalition of armed and unarmed groups to back up a post-Petro transition, including the ELN and the Gulf Clan.
The timing of the meetings coincides with Leyva’s publication of a public letter accusing Petro of substance abuse. “Leyva appears to believe that the president is unfit for office and a threat to the country as it enters the election campaign next year,” according to James Bosworth. (Latin America Risk Report)
The recordings accessed by El País were in the hands of Colombian intelligence services, and Petro has made reference to plan to oust him. Leyva said vice president Francia Márquez supported his plan — which she has firmly denied. (El Tiempo) However the accusations have further undermined already tense relations between Petro and Márquez, according to El País.
Leyva’s plan has been denounced by Colombian politicians across the board — including likely presidential candidates Vicky Dávila, Luis Gilberto Murillo, Susana Muhamad and Juan Manuel Galán, as well as political leaders Álvaro Uribe and Humberto de la Calle. (El País)
Deportations
The U.S. Trump administration’s deportation deal with El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele included an agreement to deport Salvadoran gang leaders facing criminal proceedings in the U.S. “Officials from both countries have said the gang leaders are being sent back to face justice.” But a New York Times investigation has added to a significant body of work by El Faro pointing to “another reason Mr. Bukele would want them back: U.S. prosecutors have amassed substantial evidence of a corrupt pact between the Salvadoran government and some high-ranking MS-13 leaders, who they say agreed to drive down violence and bolster Mr. Bukele politically in exchange for cash and perks in jail.” (See last Tuesday’s briefs.)
The Trump administration has offered leniency to José Ramón Hernández Reyes, a three-time felon who has been released early from federal prison to a halfway house in exchange for his testimony against Kilmar Abrego García. “Abrego’s mistaken deportation in March to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center with more than 200 other deportees revealed the risks associated with the Trump administration’s efforts to quickly fulfill the president’s campaign promise to carry out mass deportations. But the Justice Department’s decision to spare Hernández shows that officials are also willing to keep serious offenders in the United States to meet their particular goals,” reports the Washington Post.
The U.S. Trump administration announced an end to temporary legal protections for Haitian migrants in the United States, a decision that puts hundreds of thousands of people at risk of deportation to a country mired in a deep security crisis, reports the Washington Post. (See June 24’s post, for example.)
Haiti
Indeed, Haiti is on the edge of collapse, according to Human Rights Watch which calls on the U.S. to respond now before it is too late. “Only 10 percent of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, remains under the control of the Haitian government. And even this last stronghold is now on the verge of collapse, putting the entire population at risk.”
A UN report delivered today to the Security Council also challenges the Trump administration’s characterization of Haiti as a safe place to return to: “Haiti continues to face considerable challenges, particularly arising from the deterioration of the security situation and the expanding foothold of the gangs,” the U.N. secretary-general said in the report, highlighting the rising levels of violence particularly targeting women. (Miami Herald)
Regional
The assassination of Nicaraguan dissident Roberto Samcam in Costa Rica is the latest evidence that Daniel Ortega has built an infrastructure outside of its borders to track down and attack its political opponents. There have been no arrests so far, and “Costa Rica’s president, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, apparently unwilling to antagonize an important trade partner and an increasingly authoritarian government, has said nothing on the matter, alarming exiles who had hoped for a more robust response,” reports the New York Times.
Countries in the region should support Costa Rica (which has no military) to mount a regional response to a transnational threat, argues James Bosworth in World Politics Review.
An estimated 25 million people used cocaine worldwide in 2023 — up from 17 million a decade earlier. Production jumped by 34 percent from 2022, reports the New York Times.
Chile
The Chilean communist Jeannette Jara, the country’s former labor minister, has won the primary election for leftwing parties with surprising ease, beating out a more moderate rival, Carolina Toha, to clinch over 60% of the vote, reports the Associated Press.
Mexico
In the midst of a brutal internal war, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons has allied with an old and powerful adversary, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, reports the New York Times. The risky move could could ultimately turn the Jalisco cartel into the world’s biggest drug trafficker — and potentially redraw alliances and power structures across international drug markets.
The move comes as the Sinaloa Cartel faces a moment of profound turmoil — after months of heavy financial and human losses that some say could signal the end of the organization in its current form, reports the New York Times separately.
U.S. accusations that Mexican banks have helped cartels launder money ignore significant chunks of the illicit drug pipeline. “If the Trump administration is serious about tackling transnational organised crime, it’ll eventually have to tackle the drug trade where it hurts the most—the United States’ own banking and financial systems, and the country’s especially dismal relationship with legally available opioids,” argues The Mexico Political Economist.
Venezuela
“The murder of a Venezuelan TikToker during a live stream has highlighted the dangers facing those personally denouncing organized crime, although it is unlikely to lead to further instances of targeted violence,” reports InSight Crime.
Cuba
“Cuban lawmakers are set to pass a landmark bill overhauling Cuba's civil registry in July that would allow trans people to officially change their name at will, eliminating bureaucratic hurdles that have long made the process difficult, if not impossible, for many,” reports Reuters.
Brazil
Public health care in Brazil is far from perfect — but it’s a basic, constitutionally enshrined right. “Every one of its 215 million citizens — in addition to 2 million foreign residents — is entitled to free care in what has become the world’s largest public health system,” reports the Washington Post.
Brazil’s beatboxing nuns are hoping to build on their 15 minutes of virality to draw more young people to the Catholic Church - New York Times
Critter Corner
Argentine President Javier Milei made a television visit with one of his “four-legged children,” a dog he said was named Conan, one of the five English mastiffs that were the subject of speculation and controversy in the press during the early months of his Presidency. (Buenos Aires Times)