The former campaign manager who allegedly financed President Juan Manuel Santos’s 2010 election with drug money said he would like to see the evidence against him “if there is any”, according to national media reports.
“Accuse me of whatever you want, but prove it,” Rendon said before entering the Colombian consulate in Miami, according to report from Colombia’s Caracol Radio on Monday.
The Prosecutor General’s office has interrogated Rendon three times now in the Miami consulate, according to the same source.
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Rendon, a Venezuelan national, stated he will gladly present himself to the authorities all the times he is asked and does not fear going back to Colombia. However, he says he won’t go back because he has nothing to do there without a job.
Colombian media reported two weeks ago that former president and Senator-elect Alvaro Uribe accused Rendon of receiving $12 million dollars from drug organizations. Uribe also alleged Rendon used $2 million to finance Santos’s 2010 presidential campaign. The money was allegedly given by lawyers of drug lords to negotiate the demobilization of some of the nation’s biggest criminal organizations. Rendon still reportedly received his payment despite the rejection of the deal by the government.
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Senator Uribe has refused to present the evidence he has due to lack of guarantees for a fair investigation by the Prosecutor General’s office. The Prosecutor General is a known ally of President Santos. Uribe is waiting for May 30 to disclose his evidence in a meeting he has pending with one of his own political allies, Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez.
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Sources
- J.J. Rendón pide que presenten pruebas en su contra “si es que existen” (Caracol Radio)
- J.J. Rendón insta a que presenten pruebas en su contra (El Espectador)