Four hours after Angie Rodriguez, the once powerful director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (Dapre), finished an interview on the colleague network Blu Radio, President Gustavo Petro announced a complaint against her for slander and defamation.
The young professional, who even managed the president’s credit cards, made serious allegations ranging from the alleged existence of a network of women who wield part of the power in the Government – including the controversial Juliana Guerrero – to the instruction to carry out “dark things”.
These are the phrases that unsettled the President, who requested to declare Rodríguez, head of the Adaptation Fund, dismissed, who also said she would not allow 1 trillion pesos to be taken from that entity to be executed in the last week of the Petro government.
The network of women
The former official began by asserting that there is a network of women in the Presidency who, according to her, wield power and make decisions about who comes and who goes.
“It is a network of women who believed they were the ones in charge. It’s not just her (Juliana Guerrero), there are more. (…) A network, as its name indicates, a connection, a bond among many women, many, and they exerted pressure all the time. Do you know why I left? Because of them, because I opposed, so they called me. It’s like ta, ta, ta, he gave me the authorization. I told them: no, excuse me, I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to publish the résumés, I’m not going to process anything,” said Rodríguez.
And she added: “I found a series of enemies who obviously in other spaces spoke to him (the President) and it was always asking for my head. I was an obstacle for them. That’s why the President’s reaction.”
She also said that although the only visible woman in that network is Juliana Guerrero, there are more.
The death of Colonel Dávila
Another sensitive topic Rodríguez referred to was the death of Police Colonel Óscar Dávila, who according to an expert report had apparently committed suicide.
The officer had been mentioned in the polygraph investigation of Marelbys Meza, the nanny of Laura Sarabia’s son.
“What happens is that I remember that when I just arrived at Dapre some police officers told me: ‘Doctor Angie, you are very naive, you are very kind, you open your heart to people.’ (…) They told me not to be trusting because ugly things happen here. They told me ‘my colonel’s case was not a suicide,'” Rodríguez assured.
And after confirming she was talking about Colonel Óscar Dávila, she added: “Those police referred to that. And they told me ‘be careful.’ Very affected because no one spoke there for the same reason because, you see, it’s the Presidency of the Republic. Who is going to face that? Dark things that justice will have to clarify for the good of all Colombians. (…) They told me: ‘look, my colonel had a family, he was a very good person, he was super humane.’ They said: ‘he did not commit suicide, Doctor Angie, be careful.’ I processed all that in my mind and I said no my God, where I don’t take care of myself.”
‘It’s his power against me’
During the interview, Rodríguez was asked if the president had threatened her and the official responded that the president reminded her of her time in the M-19.
“I don’t want to answer,” she said at first. Then she said: “I have a deep pain because it’s his power against me. He reminded me of his past in the guerrilla. I have had to endure many things.”
And she explained that she prefers to reserve that information until she has legal support.
Fentanyl trafficking
According to Rodríguez, the president also accused her of having allied with paramilitarism and told her that she managed fentanyl.
“He told me that I managed a fentanyl network when I don’t even smoke, I haven’t even tried a cigarette. He told me I was involved with paramilitaries to bring him down (…),” Rodríguez said.
And she said the president also accused her of being a smuggler: “He told me I managed smuggling through the port of Buenaventura and that basically I was a total criminal.”
Angie Rodríguez also claimed that President Petro has a disordered life full of excesses.
Now, it will be up to the competent authorities to determine the responsibilities for what Rodríguez said.