Former Medellin director of prosecution Guillermo Valencia Cossio
declared his innocence Wednesday in a court hearing that also outlined
a defense plan to include 58 witness testimonies to support he has no ties to alleged drug lord ‘Don Mario’.
Valencia Cossio, whose brother is the current Interior and Justice Minister, is accused of various corruption-related counts resulting from his alleged relationship with Daniel Rendón, alias ‘Don Mario’.
Defense attorneys presented a list of Colombian officials who will testify from various military and police agencies, politicos, and other organizations.
Among those named by Valencia Cossio’s lawyers are: Guillermo Mendoza, the second in charge of the prosecutors office; Freddy ‘El Aleman’ Rendon Herrera, an extradited paramilitary warlord and brother of ‘Don Mario’; and Medellin Mayor Alonso Salazar Jaramillo.
Prosecutors also outlined a list of people who will provide contradictory testimony.
Prosecutors also on Wednesday repeated their claim of having more than 1,600 conversations between Valencia Cossio, John Freddy Manco and Juan Felipe Sierra, members of the alleged drug trafficking organization of ‘Don Mario’.
The prosecution also claims Valencia Cossio was approached by crime figures to strike from police intelligence records the names of important trafficking bosses associated with the ‘Don Mario’ cartel.