The Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an extensive and detailed communication to respond to the political and social pressures that arose after the press report of Caracol News. The document, signed by State Prosecutor Luz Adriana Camargo, confirmed the opening of an official investigation into alleged links between dissident members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and government officials.
The institution stated that the decision was born after internal investigations revealed material without judicial use and with “information of a high degree of seriousness.”
You can now follow us Facebook And in our WhatsApp channel
This announcement was based on a broad presentation of facts known since mid-July 2024, when a convoy of members of the Central General Staff (EMC) of dissidents crossed a military checkpoint in Anori (Antioquia). The Public Prosecutor’s Office once again presented the sequence of the operation and highlighted the seized materials.
“Self-appointed members of the General Staff from the FARC dissident blocs and fronts, including Alexandre Diaz Mendoza, also known as Calarca, Erlinson Echavarría Escobar, Juan Antonio Agudelo Salazar, Diana Carolina Rey Rodríguez, María Alejandra Ojeda Londoño, Wincer Yusuni Sabana Duque, known as Oliver, and Edgar De Jesús,” the document states. Ortega, nicknamed Firu, computers, phones, hard drives and other electronic devices.
Information previously revealed by the media which, after it became public and sparked complaints from political leaders, prompted them to ask the Attorney General to bear responsibility for not responding in a timely manner. Now the opening of the investigation comes after pressure from revealing its results and criticism about the lack of institutional action.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the devices entered the chain of custody, that they passed judicial legalization, and that forensic teams extracted and analyzed them: “After the seized materials became subject to the chain of custody, they were duly legalized before the judges of the Republic. Two forensic teams assigned to the National Police Dejen carried out the process of extracting and analyzing digital information, and issued five technical reports, the last of which was submitted on June 26 to the public prosecutor specialized in combating criminal organizations, based in Medellin, which was Responsible for investigating these events.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office indicated that the data verification process had been carried out by order of the Deputy Public Prosecutor since September 24 – as a way to deny that they had made no effort to investigate the case. The entity expressed that it is still reviewing a large amount of information, and for this reason the institution has not provided conclusions about possible responsibilities.
The letter stressed: “To date, the large amount of information found is still being verified.” Camargo stated that the seizures allowed for judicial proceedings to be taken against 28 members of the 36th Front of Dissidents in Antioquia, and explained the criminal situation of three members of the caravan.
One of the strongest points of the statement is the absence of information at the highest levels of the entity during the past year and a half. Prosecutor Camargo stated that no agency in Bogotá had received reports or copies of the results. “Neither the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Country, nor any other agency of the entity (…) during these sixteen months received reports or copies of the information collected, possible facts, acts, or conduct punishable within its jurisdiction,” the document reads.
“The State Prosecutor, Luz Adriana Camargo Garzón, orders the immediate intervention of the Anti-Organized Crime Delegate in strengthening lines of investigation regarding the possible co-option of intelligence agents and members of the National Army by FARC dissidents, threats to national security, financing of the presidential election campaign, alliances between various illegal actors and the creation of surveillance companies in the service of criminal structures,” the three-page document reads.
Far from shying away from the controversy sparked by the disclosure of the information through the media and not by the authorities, they defended what happened, stating that the time is not yet right to publish the data and that revealing the information may negatively impact the investigation: “It is disturbing that its content has become publicly known, in clear violation of the principle of confidentiality governing criminal proceedings.”
The text concluded with a defense of the independence of authorized public prosecutors and with a warning about the importance of legal confidentiality: “Authorized public prosecutors act independently within the scope of their powers and (…) information is managed under strict legal confidentiality protocols to protect the effectiveness of the proceedings and the integrity of the evidence.”
It should be noted that the press report not only revealed EMC’s alleged relationship with officials, but also revealed the possibility of resources being sent to Gustavo Pietro’s campaign in 2022, apparently through current Vice President Francia Márquez.