The Attorney General of the Nation, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, made a presentation before the 23 judges who are part of the Supreme Court of Justice. During his intervention he presented the balance of his management during the four years of his administration in the Prosecutor’s Office.
Barbosa focused on aspects such as the results of solving crimes, such as homicide, feminicide, organized crime, the fight against drug trafficking and corruption. He also addressed what his international management was like, as well as the performance of transitional justice during his administration.
Among the most significant achievements of his administration, Barbosa mentioned the resolution of 96.71% of the femicides presented on average during the four years.
However, the Pares Foundation (Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation) assures that only 3.6% of the cases of femicides in the country are in execution of sentences. While the Colombian Femicide Observatory reported that impunity in this type of crime is around 90%, according to what it told the Voice of America media in 2023. This is how the figures from civil society organizations show data contrary to those presented by the Prosecutor’s Office.
On the other hand, according to the entity, 60% progress has been made in the investigation of homicides against Human Rights defenders. However, no figure is presented as to how much progress had been made in this regard when Barbosa took over the administration of the entity.
Regarding the homicides against signatories of the peace agreement, the Prosecutor’s Office has made around 13% progress in the investigations of these cases since 2020.
Regarding collective homicides, Barbosa said that progress was made in clarifying 89.51% of the crimes involving four or more victims. The rate at the beginning of the Attorney General’s period was 36.80%; which represents an increase of more than double the number of crimes of this type prosecuted. While in relation to the homicides of three victims, the rate went from 29.30%, as of February 2020, to 77.37% in November 2023.
Other data related to transitional justice presented by Barbosa to the Court indicate that the Directorate of Transitional Justice, during the period between February 2020 and November 2023, presented charges for a total of 80,598 criminal acts attributed to demobilized paramilitary structures in the framework of the Justice and Peace Law. In addition, goods were delivered to the Victim Reparation Fund, with an approximate value of 1.6 billion pesos.
Data on corruption of the Prosecutor’s Office
In the area of crimes related to corruption, the Prosecutor’s Office reported that it carried out a total of 21,110 charges and 3,579 convictions. This means that convictions represent only 16.9% of all accusations; figure that reveals a constant problem of the judicial system: the delay in sentencing.
Regarding the irregularities detected in the contracts signed during the Covid-19 health emergency, the entity made 171 accusations and verified more than 6,000 contracts.
For its part, the Special Task Group for the Odebrecht case only obtained 11 convictions and 4 signed principles of opportunity. The accusations were higher: 104 and the accusations filed totaled 21.
Results of the Prosecutor’s Office on organized crime
Regarding criminal finances, between February 2020 and November 2023, precautionary measures were imposed for the purpose of forfeiture of assets valued at nearly 30 billion pesos.
In addition, 7,208 members of criminal organizations were captured and prosecuted, including people who belonged to gangs such as the Clan del Golfo, Los Pelusos, Los Caparros; as well as the ELN guerrilla and the FARC dissident group. 29,424 people linked to organized crime groups were also arrested.
In relation to drug trafficking, over four years, 278 drug trafficking networks were dismantled and 6,846 of their members were captured and 1,680 convictions were obtained with 2,501 sentenced. In the investigative processes, 1,093 tons of cocaine, 1,452 tons of chemical inputs, more than two million gallons of liquid precursors and 835 tons of marijuana were seized. With Infobae