Self-promotion, not serious diplomacy? Why Harry and Meghan’s Colombia tour is so controversial

With Colombia’s first left-wing government mired in scandal and alleged corruption, many are questioning the real reason the Sussexes have been invited

Harry and Meghan will touch down in Colombia this week as guests of the vice-president following the success of their three-day visit to Nigeria – but the invite has not been without controversy.

The royal couple will be given the opportunity to “illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation”, according to vice-president Francia Márquez, who has come under growing pressure alongside incumbent President Gustavo Petro, as part of a government stained by scandal and corruption allegations.

Now, a leading Colombian scholar has suggested Márquez’s invite of the Sussexes was a move of self-promotion, rather than an act of serious diplomacy.

Colombia’s first black vice-president and a “symbol” according to political scientist Mónica Pachón, Márquez famously led a campaign against illegal mining, which saw her named on the BBC’s 100 Women list in 2019.

In 2014, she was also involved in the Colombian peace process between the government and FARC - a Marxist revolutionary guerilla group - in one of Colombia’s largest steps towards ending the decades-long Colombian conflict.

Petro and Márquez have faced a difficult period in power (AFP via Getty Images)

But Pachón told The Independent that Márquez is not close to the President and “has not done much in the last two years” - so wants to “bring people who give her media attention”.

Some suggested the invite was a ploy from President Petro to deflect attention from a scandal-ridden term - but Ms Pachón dismissed the idea, arguing Petro “doesn’t care” about diplomacy and was “not involved”.

“He doesn’t care, right? His behaviour as a diplomat, he doesn’t arrive to the most important meetings with the US President, he’s travelling abroad to do stupid stuff.

Meghan and Harry (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Archive)

“But I think he allows the vice president to do this kind of thing because she is the vice president, and she requires a little bit of attention.

“If the Duke and the Duchess are willing to play that game, well, good business for them,” Ms Pachón added.

Scandal and corruption

Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing President, elected on an ambitious programme of social reform, is halfway through a difficult first term, as a sluggish economy and multiple scandals consume his premiership.

In 2023, the attorney general’s office opened an investigation into Laura Sarabia, Petro’s chief of staff, which revealed police had been tapping her nanny’s phone.

Sarabia and Armando Benedetti, Petro’s election campaign manager who also employed the nanny, stepped down due to public pressure. An incensed Benedetti was recorded having an outburst against Petro, in which he threatens to reveal dirt about the election campaign.

Months later, Nicolas Petro, the president’s son, was indicted in January on money laundering charges, accused of funnelling funds from a drug lord towards his father’s presidential campaign.

(Getty)

Varied legislative success

Among the scandal, some progress was made on Petro’s election promises.

An early coalition of support with opposition parties was vital in pushing through his ambitious and highly progressive tax and pension reforms.

His government also boosted private-sector commitments towards environmental initiatives and has overseen the decline of deforestation to record lows.

Petro was partly elected upon his ‘Total Peace’ plan, which sought to broker ceasefires with paramilitary, guerilla and cartels.

Crime has long been on the decline in Colombia, with the homicide rate currently around a third of what it was at its 1991 peak, when 84 murders per 100,000 people were recorded.

Successive governments have sought to produce peace deals with the guerillas, paramilitaries and cartels - the trio of groups which brought devastation to Colombia in the late 20th century.

Other signature reforms concerned education, health, and labour. But not only have these stalled legislatively, they have prompted mass protests and political upheaval since the beginning of the year.

Gustavo Petro is under major pressure as corruption allegations loom (AP)

The public voice their dismay

“Today begins the Colombia of the possible,” was Petro’s rallying cry following the election. But since then, his approval rating crashed from 56 percent to around half that figure in the last 6 months.

Up to 200,000 people protested against Petro’s programme of social reforms in April, with critics claiming it would damage a struggling economy.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in Colombia to protest against Petro’s health reforms (AFP via Getty Images)

Last October’s regional elections, touted as a referendum on Petro’s 14-month-long presidency, saw voters in major cities flocked to Petro’s opponents, with Pacto Historico winning just two out of 32 governorships.

He is nonetheless likely to survive until the next election, analysts believe, as no president has ever been impeached in Colombia before.