Why didn’t Élmer Fernández have protection despite reporting a death threat in La Modelo?

lThe hypotheses about the murder of Élmer Fernández, director of the La Modelo prison, in Bogotá, They continue to be the subject of investigation by an elite group of the Police and the Prosecutor’s Office, who seek to identify the hitmen on motorcycles who committed the crime on NQS Avenue and 80th Street, when the official was returning to his home.

The Minister of Justice, Nestor Osunain a press conference this Friday, May 17, referred to what is known so far about the case and highlighted that Élmer Fernández had been receiving death threats.

The retired police officer, who was born in Cauca, took over as director of The Model, in Bogotá. Fernández already had experience in running prisons, having been in charge of the Guaduas prison, in Cundinamarca.

Even one of his main purposes since he arrived at La Modelo was to combat extortion from this prison. Therefore, one of the hypotheses advanced by investigators is that his murder occurred due to decisions regarding this crime.

At the site of the murder of Colonel (r) Élmer Fernández, director of La Modelo prison, in Bogotá, urgent actions are carried out by the authorities.

Photo:Nestor Gomez. TIME

The threats against Élmer Fernández

Last Thursday, May 9, Élmer Fernández received a threatening pamphlet that immediately caused him concern. The texts on these sheets indicated that the lives of both his and his family were at risk.

One of these was: “On behalf of ‘Pedro Pluma’ to the director that if he searches the yard again, his family will kill him.”

Later, Fernández received another pamphlet: “So that you can see that I do have power, if you transfer me, I will kill your family.”

The aforementioned death-risk messages, as detailed by Minister Osuna, were reported by Fernández to the Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, May 10.

Minister Nestor Osuna

Photo:MAURICIO MORENO

Why didn’t he receive protection from that moment?

One of the main complaints of the Inpec guards is, precisely, that Fernández did not have protection at the time of the attack even though he did warn about the threats.

“He had filed the complaint on Friday (May 10), on Tuesday of this week, before the Inpec, which is the regular procedure, he filed the request for protection with the National Protection Unit (UNP),” Osuna explained.

However, the Ministry of Justice pointed out that in the procedure Regulating this process takes several weeks, but this procedure must be evaluated to speed it up.

After what happened, Néstor Osuna assured that in the case of threats to members of Inpec, protection requests will be processed on an emergency basis.

Élmer Fernández had assumed management of the La Modelo prison a little over a month ago.

Photo:Sergio Acero Yate. TIME / Juan David Camacho. TIME

Regarding the responsibility of the process for Fernández, Osuna said that current regulations do not contemplate protection for prison directors, except in threatening circumstances, but the process had barely begun.

“What has happened is terrible. That leads us to correct, since last night, that procedure so that protection is immediate,” he added.

The threats against Élmer Fernández

Why didn’t he receive protection from that moment?

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