Colombia’s Inspector General will not proceed with the disciplinary
investigations against Social Welfare Minister Diego Palacio and
current ambassador to Rome Sabas Pretelt de la Vega, local media reported Monday. The two are suspected of having bribed former congresswoman Yidis Medina.
Just after being sworn in, Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez last month announced he would not continue the investigation that was started by his predecessor, but preferred to begin with a clean slate.
Palacio’s defense attorney, Jaime Lombana, told W Radio he is pleased with the Inspector General’s decision and thinks the Prosecutor General’s Office should also drop charges against his client.
Palacio and Pretelt de la Vega are being criminally investigated for allegedly having promised favors to former Congresswoman Yidis Medina if she would vote in favor of the 2006 re-election of President Álvaro Uribe. Medina is currently serving more than 4 years house arrest for having accepted the bribe and changing her vote for personal gain.