Former congresswoman Yidis Medina on Monday denied former Minister Sabas Pretelt de la Vega’s claim that he did not attempt to bribe her to secure the re-election of then-President Alvaro Uribe.
Pretelt de la Vega is accused of offering notary offices to Medina and former congressman Avendaño Teodolindo in 2004 in exchange for their votes for a constitutional change to allow Uribe to run for a second term. Colombia’s inspector general has barred Pretelt de la Vega from holding public office for twelve years, and the country’s prosecutor general is conducting a criminal investigation against him.
Pretelt de la Vega said Wednesday that Medina had told his lawyers that “she insists I didn’t offer anything” and claimed she would repeat that if anyone asked her.
But when news cast Noticias Uno asked Medina about Pretelt de la Vega’s statement, she said “It’s a lie … proven with the facts of 2004.”
According to Medina, who is serving more than four years under house arrest for having accepted the bribes, “there were many meetings, first about the government having ordered the second notary of Barranca … and second that [former Minister] Diego Palacio would convince Teodolindo as plan b.”
