Guillermo Valencia Cossio’s defense team presented a document to the court which allegedly undermines a key piece of evidence implicating the defendant in taking bribes from paramilitaries, reported El Espectador on Tuesday.
The document allegedly proves that an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) – a key piece of evidence which the prosecution alleges Cossio received as a bribe from paramilitaries – was registered not under Valencia Cossio’s name but under the name of of businessman Felipe Sierra, who is also accused of paramilitary ties.
Valencia Cossio’s defense team argue that the new document proves the former prosecutor is not guilty of accepting bribes in return for using his position to remove damning evidence against “El Indio,” the second-in-command to paramilitary kingpin “Don Mario.”
“We have just finished the session, bringing it up to date and the court authorized it, a document showing the certificate of the ATV, showing that it is the property of Felipe Sierra,” said Cossio’s defense lawyer Gabriel Angel Salazar.
The ongoing trial against Valencia Cossio, who stands accused of illegal collaboration and negotiation with criminal gangs while he held the position of director of prosecution in Medellin, is entering its final stages, with four more testimonies to be presented before the verdict is reached.
