Colombia’s war crimes tribunal wants the United States to surrender evidence that would support a DEA claim that FARC leader “Jesus Santrich” conspired to traffic drugs earlier this year.
According to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), wiretaps and a photo of the former guerrilla leader surrendered by Prosecutor General Nestor Humberto Martinez fail to prove Santrich’ alleged involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
Unless either the prosecution or the DEA provides evidence supporting claims that Santrich participated in a drug deal, the former FARC leader is shielded from extradition as part of a 2016 peace deal and must be released from jail to await trial over crimes against humanity.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace
Martinez’ latest blunder?
The court decision a major embarrassment for Martinez, because it implies that the chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of Santrich in April without evidence.
The chief prosecutor was embarrassed earlier this year after he was forced to release the arrested owners of a supermarket chain he had accused of being FARC money launderers without evidence.
Martinez has refused to surrender evidence related to Santrich until earlier this month after which it became evident Santrich never agreed to meet with Mexican drug traffickers as claimed by the DEA, but was told by a DEA informant that he would meet with foreign businessmen interested in investing in FARC reintegration projects.
War crimes tribunal focuses on DEA informant
The court ordered Martinez, who has been accused of “categorically meddling” and even intimidating the war crimes tribunal, to surrender additional evidence, specifically recordings of phone conversations of the DEA informant, Marlon Marin.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace
Martinez has said that the prosecution began wiretapping Marin, the nephew of FARC leader “Ivan Marquez,” on suspicion he was trying to embezzle funds meant for a peace process.
It was during this investigation that Marin allegedly ended up bartering a drug deal with an undercover DEA agent pretending to be an emissary of a Mexican drug cartel.
Marin was flown to the US by the DEA after the arrest of Santrich and has reportedly since disappeared.
Government reluctant to request evidence from the US
The court ordered the Foreign Ministry to request “the evidence supporting the extradition request by the United States of America.”
Vice-President Marta Lucia Ramirez, a former Defense Minister who could be implicated in war crimes herself, rejected the court order, claiming that the court’s “objective and competence is not revising the current doctrine in regards to the extradition of narcos.”
The war crimes tribunal has been on a collision course with both the controversial chief prosecutor and the administration of President Ivan Duque, whose political allies and economic backers have been accused of war crimes.
The mission chief of the United Nations, which monitors the peace process, already urged the government to “respect” the transitional justice system that came into force earlier this year to seek justice for the more than 8.5 million war victims.
The possibly tens of thousands of victimizers, that allegedly include powerful politicians, military officials and business leaders, have long enjoyed virtually absolute impunity.