President Juan Manuel Santos will seek an investigation into the judge who ordered the premature release of the FARC member and former right-hand-man of “Mono Jojoy,” “Chucho.”
The investigation, if carried out by the Superior Judicial Council, will be into actions taken by Judge Juan de Dios Solano from the Bucaramanga court. Solano ruled last Friday that due to procedural errors during his arrest, principally the failure of the authorities to tell him on what charges he was being taken into custody, Chucho was entitled to his release.
Rejecting the judge’s decision, Santos declared that while there are a few “bad apples,” that exist, they must not be allowed to overshadow the work of justice, Caracol Radio reported.
Despite his early release, Chucho was immediately re-arrested Sunday after a prosecutor filed a new warrant that was carried out upon Chucho’s exit from his prison in Bucaramanga.
Chucho, real name Manuel Marulanda Velez, has since been transferred under tight security to Bogota. Prior to being placed on the aircraft that would take him to the capital, Chucho launched into a tirade, stating that he had been beaten by his guards while held in Bucaramanga, adding, “I am proudly a guerrilla of the FARC.”
Chucho had originally been serving a 19 year sentence for his role in the 2003 bombing of a Bogota nightclub.
Update (April 25, 9:43AM)
Caracol Radio reports that the Superior Judicial Council has granted Santos’ request and initiated a preliminary investigation into the judge who ordered the release of Chucho. The process is set to last for six months.