Petro reveals strategy to change Colombia’s socio-economic model
How Colombia’s judicial reform seeks to solve prison...
Colombia’s chief prosecutor says paramilitaries kidnapped, interrogated investigators
Colombia’s war crimes tribunal to press criminal charges...
Colombia jails US citizen on femicide charges
Colombia preparing tropical paradise for tourism after 500...
Hacktivists leak 178,000 documents from Colombia’s military
Colombia sentenced for exterminating political party
Colombia’s capital Bogota awarded for failing crime policy
OAS urges Colombia to release people arrested over...
  • About
  • Support
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion
Former Prosecutor General Nestor Humberto Martinez (Image: Prosecutor General's Office)
News

Colombia’s chief prosecutor evades corruption hearing and leaves country

by Adriaan Alsema May 19, 2019
2.6k

Colombia’s resigned chief prosecutor said Friday that he has left the country, a week before he was supposed to be interrogated by the Supreme Court over his alleged ties to corruption.

Martinez told Canal 1 that he took a “necessary rest” after a war crimes tribunal order to investigate him for “serious irregularities” triggered his furious resignation.

The chief prosecutor had become one of the United States’ most loyal allies in Colombia after the US Justice Department discovered multiple corruption scandals tied to Martinez.


How the DEA and Colombia’s prosecution could have broken the law in attempt to nab FARC leader


How Martinez’ humiliation avoided another humiliation

The chief prosecutor was supposed to appear before the Supreme Court on Thursday over his possible removal from all cases related to the Odebrecht bribery scandal because of his conflict of interest in one of the biggest corruption scandals of the past decades.

The court will now meet on Tuesday to decide whether or not to accept the resignation of Martinez and vice-Prosecutor General Maria Paulina Riveros.

Martinez’ announced his “irrevocable resignation” on Wednesday after the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) ordered the release of FARC leader “Jesus Santrich” on a so-far unsubstantiated US drug trafficking charge and ordered investigations into possible misconduct by the prosecution and the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration.It is unclear whether Martinez will be present at the hearing as he told CM& Noticias he will be “away for the time necessary to get my things together.”

Opposition Senator Maria Angela Robledo said on Twitter that Martinez’ resignation had everything to do with the pending corruption hearing and not his disagreement with the JEP’s decision to bin the FARC leader’s extradition request.


Colombia’s chief prosecutor may be removed from office over Odebrecht bribery


How things got this messed up

Martinez was the judicial adviser of banking conglomerate Grupo Aval when one of its subsidiaries and Brazilian business partner were bribing government officials. Additionally, there is evidence he was warned about the criminal activity in 2015, a year before being the Supreme Court appointed him Prosecutor General.

As chief prosecutor he took no steps to investigate the corruption until after the US Justice Department revealed the Brazilian engineering firm’s corruption practices in Colombia in late 2016.

A special prosecutor took over several lines of investigation after the mysterious deaths of the key witness and his son, but Martinez and his office continued to investigate other parts of the corruption scandal in which the chief prosecutor has a conflict of interest.

Before the Odebrecht bribery scandal became public, US authorities had already requested the extradition of Martinez’ anti-corruption chief on claims he was bribing Supreme Court judges to favor politicians.


Colombia’s chief prosecutor manipulated DEA evidence linking him to Supreme Court bribes: report


The explosion

When the JEP additionally ordered an investigation, Martinez proverbially exploded and, using the Prosecutor General’s Office’s Twitter, accused the transitional justice court of a “coup” and called on Colombians to protest against the JEP.

Some two dozen people showed up at the protest called for by the man who had become the personification of corruption in the country and had virtually destroyed Colombians’ confidence in their country’s corruption-ridden justice system.

Anti-corruption advocates and opposition politicians celebrated his departure. It is unclear where Martinez is currently staying.

corruptionJEPNestor Humberto MartinezOdebrecht

Trending

  • Colombia jails US citizen on femicide charges

  • Colombia’s war crimes tribunal to press criminal charges over failed plot to extradite former FARC chief

  • Petro’s reveals strategy to change Colombia’s socio-economic model

For patrons

Downloads for patrons

Related articles

  • Colombia’s war crimes tribunal to press criminal charges over failed plot to extradite former FARC chief

  • Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord

  • Colombia recalls ambassador from Guatemala over corruption probe fallout

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Rss

@2008-2019 - Colombia Reports. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Digitale Zaken and Parrolabs


Back To Top
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion