Colombia’s chief prosecutor suspended two Medellín prosecutors and
the ex-adviser of the city’s former chief prosecutor, as the
investigation into drug trafficking influence in the country’s second
largest city widens.
All three have been transferred to Bogotá or elsewhere as part of
what is officially a normal reorganization of the department, but Caracol Radio reports there are documents and testimonies that show suspicious actions and irregularities by the trio.
Carlos Vanegas, ex-adviser of Medellin’s former chief prosecutor, Guillermo León Valencia Cossio, and one of the two advisors, Human
Rights special prosecutor Luis Enrique Monsalve Mejía, were responsible
for many sensitive cases, including murders of union workers, reported El Tiempo.
Valencia, brother of Colombia Interior and Justice minister Fabio Valencia Cossio, was ordered to resign
by Iguaran in August after Cambio magazine published recorded phone
conversations suggesting Valencia was tied to drug lord ‘Don Mario’.
The news comes two weeks after Medellín chief of police General
Marco Antonio Pedreros, who was in charge of all northeastern police
operations, resigned amid allegations of links with paramilitary boss
‘Don Mario’.