Authorities confirmed the escape of an inmate from Bogota’s La Picota prison, raising renewed questions about the prison’s security controls. According to the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec), the protagonist of the escape is Pedro David Nieves Mosquera, a man with a long criminal history who remains sentenced to 28 years in prison for kidnapping for ransom.
The incident occurred on Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 4:20 p.m. at Structure 3 of the National Order Detention Establishment (ERON). Inpec sources said that the prisoner managed to leave the prison with a visitor using the “contour” method, which facilitated his escape. The escape was possible because Nieves Mosquera swapped places with a visitor who remained in the facilities.
You can now continue following us Facebook and in ours WhatsApp channel
Initial investigations indicate that the visitor involved in the escape has been identified as Alexander Marulanda Ríos.which will remain in the La Picota facilities and will be made available to the judicial authorities. The report obtained thanks to Inpec indicates that a relative of the refugee remained in the town, which would have facilitated the departure of Nieves Mosquera.
According to the collected versions The criminal investigation units were informed about the prisoner’s disappearance after checking his absence from the pavilionwhich quickly activated the search and notification protocols to the police and prosecutors.
Pedro David Nieves Mosquera had already attracted the attention of authorities before his recent escape. In 2023, the Attorney General’s Office released his file, which also included an arrest that occurred minutes after he regained his freedom after serving more than eight years in the Bogotá Model Prison for extortion.
According to court information Subsequently, Nieves Mosquera was presented to a judge as a possible accomplice of aggravated extortionate kidnapping and a qualified and aggravated robbery. As part of the investigation, the Boyacá Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that on June 19 of the same year, a victim was deceived and taken to a rural area of Sáchica.
Over there, She was intercepted and deprived of her freedom for almost nine hours. Period during which they demanded the passwords to his bank cards and confiscated a truck and other assets. The economic damage was estimated at almost 60 million pesos.
On this occasion The police’s quick response enabled two suspected perpetrators to be caught in the act and, a few days later, the woman who acted as a decoy was arrested. Authorities seized the vehicle and Nieves Mosquera was held in a prison along with others involved.
The escape of Pedro David Nieves Mosquera is once again testing the internal controls of La Picota, one of Colombia’s largest prisons. The time reported that after the impersonation was discovered, authorities took action to find out the fugitive’s whereabouts.
The “change” method used in this evasion has been highlighted in the past by control organizations and the media as a structural weakness in the penal system. Inpec, together with the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office, is developing measures to locate Nieves Mosquera and identify internal administrative responsibilities.
The case of Nieves Mosquera is reminiscent of other high-profile evasions in Colombia, such as the case of former senator Aida Merlano. On October 1, 2019, the judiciary handed down a sentence against Merlano for his escape. The 18th Criminal District judge-executive judge imposed a sentence of 42 months, equivalent to three years and five months, after approving a deal negotiated between the former lawmaker and the attorney general’s office.
The incident that led to the conviction occurred when Merlano descended a rope from a dentist’s office in northern Bogota and mounted a motorcycle driven by an accomplice disguised as a delivery man.and then disappears. During the November 7 hearing, the former congresswoman from a military installation in Malambo, Atlantico, appeared visibly distressed and expressed remorse for her actions.
The verdict complements Merlano’s trial on electoral corruption charges and is a recent example of how the escape of high-profile prisoners continues to pose a challenge for Colombian authorities.
About The Author
