The Attorney General’s Office obtained a sentence of 27 years in prison for five individuals involved in the disappearance and subsequent murder of cell phone dealer Ezequiel Martínez Lugo in Acevedo, Huila, a tragic event that shocked the community in January 2019. This macabre event, which set a precedent in the fight against forced disappearance in Colombia, revealed an act of atrocity and premeditation on the part of those convicted. The victim was deceived under false promises and then dismembered, with his remains thrown into the Magdalena River in plastic bags.
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Among those sentenced is a member of the National Police, which further aggravates the seriousness of this crime. The convicted individuals are the brothers Henry and Fredy Espinosa Guevara, John Jairo Plaza Facundo, Henry Soto Majé and patrolman Henry Mejía Orozco. The investigations led by a prosecutor specialized in Human Rights Violations of the Prosecutor’s Office revealed that these individuals were part of a drug trafficking network involved in the distribution of cocaine hydrochloride in the departments of Cauca and Caquetá.
The motivation behind this brutal act, according to the competent authority, lies in an apparent disagreement with a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking. “The victim had received several kilos of coca for sale, however, she did not report the money resulting from it, nor did she return the aforementioned merchandise,” explained the Prosecutor’s Office, uncovering the dark background of this case.
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The ruling overturned a previous decision that had acquitted those involved due to a lack of conclusive evidence. The judge’s determination in that instance was based on an exhaustive analysis of the evidence and testimonies collected by the Special Prosecutor against Human Rights Violations.
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