Colombia’s interior and justice minister replaced the director of Bogota’s La Picota prison after ongoing reports of jailed politicians having parties.
Minister German Vargas Lleras also warned the politicians who are jailed for ties to death squads that the parties must stop or the government will transfer some of the politicians to other jails.
According to Caracol Radio, two jailed politicians have organized parties and invited dozens of guests for a meal cooked in a kitchen built especially for the politicians.
Guards from the jail told the radio station that a third politician forced them to take him to a private clinic instead of the determined state clinic for a routine health check-up. According to the guards, they have no option but to obey the orders of the inmates or be transferred to far-away prisons.
Reports of excessive medical leaves emerged in October, when the interior and justice minister also demanded action to be taken.
The now-transferred director Himelda Lopez is the second director that has forced to leave after excessive behavior of inmates in La Picota. Lopez’s predecessor was forced to resign after news broke that one politician had torn down walls to expand his cell.