Social Welfare Minister Diego Palacio accused the Supreme Court of bias
and is concerned he is being judged “without clarity or objectivity”
over his alleged role in the bribery of Congressmen.
Palacio was implicated in
securing the Congress approval of the 2006 re-election of Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe. Two Congressmen were convicted because they
were bribed to assure this approval.
The Minister is accused of meeting with one of the Congressmen, Teodolindo Avendaño, less than 24
hours before the vote. He then, despite having been a vociferous opponent
of the re-election, disappeared during this vote.
Palacio has always denied involvement in the bribery and says he never met with Congressmen to discuss the re-election bill.
He has now expressed concern that the Supreme Court implicated him for political gain.
“The Court’s pronouncements have implicated me without clarity or objectivity… there are some magistrates that are doing this for political gain and have launched presidential campaigns,” the official said.
