An investigation into possible links between paramilitary groups and Guillermo Gaviria, father of the mayor of Colombia’s second-largest city Medellin, has been closed.
The Prosecutor General’s Office took the decision on Friday to close the three-year investigation into Gaviria – the owner of local newspaper El Mundo – who was accused of financially supporting now-demobilized paramilitary group AUC in the Antioquia region, of which Medellin is the capital.
The current Mayor of Medellin, Anibal Gaviria, expressed his relief that the investigation into his 89-year-old father had been closed. “It was a torturous process that really damaged my father’s health, but we always believed in his innocence and in Colombia’s justice system.”
Guillermo Gaviria maintained that he never willingly financed paramilitaries, but was rather the victim of extortion.
In August it was revealed by Medellin blog Folio that Gaviria’s lawyer, Luis Alfonso Bravo, was on the city’s payroll, receiving around $10,500 per month.
MORE: Medellin mayor’s family attorney on city’s payroll: Reports