diff --git a/app/controllers/reviewables_controller.rb b/app/controllers/reviewables_controller.rb
index f0f9766691a..112e8980929 100644
--- a/app/controllers/reviewables_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/reviewables_controller.rb
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ class ReviewablesController < ApplicationController
     reviewable = Reviewable.find_by(id: params[:reviewable_id], created_by: user)
     raise Discourse::NotFound.new if reviewable.blank?
 
-    reviewable.perform(current_user, :delete)
+    reviewable.perform(current_user, :delete, { guardian: @guardian })
 
     render json: success_json
   end
diff --git a/app/models/reviewable.rb b/app/models/reviewable.rb
index c159967014f..e1406627a25 100644
--- a/app/models/reviewable.rb
+++ b/app/models/reviewable.rb
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ class Reviewable < ActiveRecord::Base
     valid = [action_id, aliases.to_a.select { |k, v| v == action_id }.map(&:first)].flatten
 
     # Ensure the user has access to the action
-    actions = actions_for(Guardian.new(performed_by), args)
+    actions = actions_for(args[:guardian] || Guardian.new(performed_by), args)
     raise InvalidAction.new(action_id, self.class) unless valid.any? { |a| actions.has?(a) }
 
     perform_method = "perform_#{aliases[action_id] || action_id}".to_sym
diff --git a/lib/guardian.rb b/lib/guardian.rb
index ed862df604d..d4323575951 100644
--- a/lib/guardian.rb
+++ b/lib/guardian.rb
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ class Guardian
   def can_delete_reviewable_queued_post?(reviewable)
     return false if reviewable.blank?
     return false if !authenticated?
-    return true if @user.admin?
+    return true if is_api? && is_admin?
 
     reviewable.created_by_id == @user.id
   end
@@ -654,6 +654,10 @@ class Guardian
     end
   end
 
+  def is_api?
+    @user && request&.env&.dig(Auth::DefaultCurrentUserProvider::API_KEY_ENV)
+  end
+
   protected
 
   def category_group_moderation_allowed?
diff --git a/spec/lib/guardian_spec.rb b/spec/lib/guardian_spec.rb
index 6207bce5baa..1d175a34f03 100644
--- a/spec/lib/guardian_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/guardian_spec.rb
@@ -4194,4 +4194,60 @@ RSpec.describe Guardian do
       expect(guardian.is_category_group_moderator?(category)).to eq(false)
     end
   end
+
+  describe "#can_delete_reviewable_queued_post" do
+    context "when attempting to destroy a non personal reviewable" do
+      it "returns true for api requests from admins" do
+        api_key = Fabricate(:api_key).key
+        queued_post = Fabricate(:reviewable_queued_post, created_by: user)
+        opts = {
+          "HTTP_API_USERNAME" => admin.username,
+          "HTTP_API_KEY" => api_key,
+          "REQUEST_METHOD" => "DELETE",
+          "#{Auth::DefaultCurrentUserProvider::API_KEY_ENV}" => "foo",
+        }
+
+        env = create_request_env(path: "/review/#{queued_post.id}.json").merge(opts)
+        guardian = Guardian.new(admin, ActionDispatch::Request.new(env))
+        expect(guardian.can_delete_reviewable_queued_post?(queued_post)).to eq(true)
+      end
+
+      it "returns false for admin requests not via the API" do
+        queued_post = Fabricate(:reviewable_queued_post, created_by: user)
+        env =
+          create_request_env(path: "/review/#{queued_post.id}.json").merge(
+            { "REQUEST_METHOD" => "DELETE" },
+          )
+        guardian = Guardian.new(admin, ActionDispatch::Request.new(env))
+        expect(guardian.can_delete_reviewable_queued_post?(queued_post)).to eq(false)
+      end
+
+      it "returns false for api requests from tl4 users" do
+        api_key = Fabricate(:api_key).key
+        queued_post = Fabricate(:reviewable_queued_post, created_by: user)
+        opts = {
+          "HTTP_API_USERNAME" => trust_level_4.username,
+          "HTTP_API_KEY" => api_key,
+          "REQUEST_METHOD" => "DELETE",
+          "#{Auth::DefaultCurrentUserProvider::API_KEY_ENV}" => "foo",
+        }
+
+        env = create_request_env(path: "/review/#{queued_post.id}.json").merge(opts)
+        guardian = Guardian.new(trust_level_4, ActionDispatch::Request.new(env))
+        expect(guardian.can_delete_reviewable_queued_post?(queued_post)).to eq(false)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context "when attempting to destroy your own reviewable" do
+      it "returns true" do
+        queued_post = Fabricate(:reviewable_queued_post, created_by: user)
+        env =
+          create_request_env(path: "/review/#{queued_post.id}.json").merge(
+            { "REQUEST_METHOD" => "DELETE" },
+          )
+        guardian = Guardian.new(user, ActionDispatch::Request.new(env))
+        expect(guardian.can_delete_reviewable_queued_post?(queued_post)).to eq(true)
+      end
+    end
+  end
 end