Colombia’s chief prosecutor promoted allegedly corrupt subordinate

Prosecutor General's Office (Image: Wikipedia)

One of Prosecutor General Francisco Barbosa’s delegates before the Supreme Court was sacked on Monday for his alleged involvement in a major corruption scandal.

In a press release, the Prosecutor General’s Office said it had ordered an investigation into the alleged criminal activity of prosecutor Paulo Xavier Romero.

The colleagues of the Supreme Court delegate in 2017 released a wiretap recording that revealed Romero’s alleged involvement in a “criminal enterprise” led by former Cartagena Mayor Manuel Vicente Duque.

Notwithstanding, the prosecution claimed that it wasn’t aware of Romero’s alleged corruption until Monday when W Radio reported on the promotion of the prosecutor.

Prosecutor General’s Office

The prosecution said that it would additionally investigate other possible crimes allegedly committed by Romero after Barbosa made him one of the prosecution’s best-paid officials.

According to W Radio journalist Daniel Coronell, Romero said he was involved in “some investigations in which your name appears.”

These alleged investigations were part of a “special assignment of the prosecutor general,” Romero allegedly told Coronell.

The sacked delegate before the Supreme Court is the latest of multiple of Barbosa’s most important subordinates who have been implicated in corruption scandals.

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