September 2, 2020

Can Colombia's prosecution try Uribe if it can't even solve 95% of crimes?

by Adriaan Alsema September 2, 2020

Colombia’s Supreme Court put the notoriously dysfunctional prosecution in a major fix by putting it in charge of former President Alvaro Uribe‘s fraud and bribery case.

Its name may indicate the opposite, but prosecuting alleged criminals is not what Colombia’s prosecution does or 95% of the country’s crimes would’t be left unsolved.

If Prosecutor General Francisco Barbosa screws up the trial of the century like his office has screwed up the vast majority of criminal investigations, the consequences are impossible to calculate.

The prosecution: a safe bet?

After the former president renounced his congressional privilege, the court agreed to put the prosecution in charge of the witness tampering case.

This dramatically increased the former president’s changes to stay out of prison as the chief prosecutor is one of President Ivan Duque‘s best friends and both effectively owe their jobs to Uribe.

Furthermore, prosecutors have been disappearing criminal investigations for decades and prosecutor Daniel Hernandez, who is prosecuting Uribe’s former fixer Diego Cadena, has already said the former president is a “victim.”

More:
https://colombiareports.com/can-colombias-prosecution-try-uribe-if-it-cant-even-solve-95-of-crimes/

September 2, 2020

UN peace observer's 'suicide' tied to resignation Colombia's defense minister

(Image: United Nations mission in Colombia)

by Adriaan Alsema
September 2, 2020

The death of a UN peace observer appears to be linked to the leaking of evidence that triggered the resignation of Colombia’s former defense minister, according to newspaper El Espectador.

The body of peace observer Mario Paciolla from Italy was found in his home on July 15, five days before he hoped to end his volunteer job as a peace observer in the southern town of San Vicente del Caguan.

Friends and family immediately disputed the local police’s claim that Paciolla had committed suicide as the Italian had told his mother he was “in trouble” the evening before a was found dead.

“Colombia isn’t safe for me anymore,” the UN volunteer wrote a few days before his death, according to newspaper El Espectador.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/un-peace-observers-suicide-tied-to-resignation-colombias-defense-minister/