On June 4, the governor of Magdalena, Rafael Alejandro Martínez, dedicated his social networks to disseminating a news story from Noticias Uno in which the governor denounced that public resources from the Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta were being used for alleged political persecutions in against the leaders of the Citizen Force movement.
This publication of the governor was supported by former governor Carlos Caicedo, political boss of Rafael Martínez.
Tracking.co published at the time that the contract in question corresponds to the appointment of Quintana as defender of the Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta in the criminal proceedings in which he participates as a victim, and his task is to inventory, review, analyze and promote the defense of the Mayor’s Office so that these criminal processes continue their course and defend the interests of the territorial entity.
What this digital media learned is that, according to the efforts carried out by the mayor’s defender, many of the processes in which the territorial entity plays the role of victim, involve alleged acts of corruption by the former presidents, mainly Carlos Caicedo and Rafael Martínez, as well as Virna Johnson.
However, since the three leaders are part of the same political group, many of these processes had apparently been left ‘drift’, even leading to some of them being on the verge of being precluded due to lack of management and legal representation of the Mayor’s Office itself. Work in which the lawyer Quintana is now appointed, who in the past served as a defender of the victims of homicides at the University of Magdalena.
What are the processes?
After a review of the partial reports submitted by lawyer Quintana, Tracking.co accessed documents that show that, to date, 52 criminal proceedings have been identified (with their respective files filed with the Attorney General’s Office) in which the Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta participates as a victim.
Of these 52, the lawyer has already submitted a report to the Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta on 17 of these, and of the 17, in 12 of them Carlos Caicedo Omar is involved, as alleged responsible for corruption crimes, and in others Rafael is also linked. Alejandro Martínez.
Discharge: Document with the processes in which the Mayor’s Office is part as a victim
The majority of these processes, as can be seen below, are processed in different Courts and have scheduled hearings. Precisely, the task of lawyer Quintana is, as defender of the Mayor’s Office, to monitor them and participate in their hearings to help the Prosecutor’s Office clarify the facts before the corresponding judges.
This is a summary of the processes that they have studied so far, which involve Carlos Caicedo, who served as mayor of Santa Marta in the period 2012-2015:
- Possible acts of corruption due to the subscription, execution and construction of health posts in Santa Marta (preparatory hearing). Third Criminal Court of the Circuit with Knowledge Functions. The last hearing was on April 16 and the reading date of the order decreeing evidence for the trial will be July 10, 2024.
- Possible diversion of resources by Carlos Caicedo Omar. The Mayor’s Office acted as a victim and stopped following up on the processes; criminal complaints are being considered for negligence on the part of the previous administrations. The process is in the Second Criminal Court of the Circuit with Knowledge Function of Santa Marta – Magdalena and involves Carlos Caicedo and Juan Pinedo
- Possible acts of corruption in the construction of health posts in Santa Marta. There is no hearing schedule yet for this case. (Involved: Rafael Martínez, Juan Illidge, Henry Villalobos, Jesús Navarro, Edgardo Charri, Carlos Slevi, Gregorio Domínguez and Carlos Caicedo.)
- Investigation by the toy library, known as the CDI of Bonda and Ciudad Equidad. Circuit Criminal Court 5 with Knowledge Functions of Santa Marta. We are awaiting a hearing to formulate the accusation, which should be on June 28, 2024.
- Gaira Coliseum. Second Criminal Court of the Circuit with Knowledge Function of Santa Marta. Later it went to the Sixth Criminal Court of the Santa Marta Circuit with the function of Knowledge. The next hearing will be on July 22, 2024.
- Adaptation of the Trupillos, Sesquicentenario, Locomotora, Avenida del Río and Bastidas parks. The oral trial of this process will continue on August 29, 2024. Involved: Carlos Caicedo, Fredy Daniel Pinilla Monroy and Emiro Carlos Barguil.
- ddiversion of public resources in which case compensation is sought for the detriment to the Mayor’s Office. A hearing is pending once an appeal that is before the court is resolved. He is currently in the Third Criminal Court of the Circuit with Knowledge Function of Santa Marta in a preparatory hearing.
- Construction of the megalibrary. Fifth Criminal Court of the Circuit with Knowledge Function of Santa Marta. He went to the Sixth Criminal Court of the Santa Marta Circuit with Knowledge Function. The next hearing will be June 25. It is in the accusation stage.
- The Prosecutor’s Office accuses loss of public resources, there is a request for preclusion, which the Mayor’s Office, as the victim, will oppose in a hearing that is scheduled for a date not yet finalized. It is in the Fourth Municipal Criminal Court with Knowledge Function of Santa Marta and also involves, in addition to Carlos Caicedo, the former mayor Juan Pablo Díaz Granados.
- Diversion of public resources. In addition to Carlos Caicedo, Rafael Martínez is also related. The last hearing of this process took place on April 16, 2024 and there the file was sent to the Supreme Court of Justice to hear the matter regarding Rafael Martínez, who is currently governor.
- Prosecutor’s Office reproaches the alleged loss of public resources. A process that is in the Third Criminal Court with Knowledge Function of Santa Marta, for the crime of embezzlement by appropriation. He was referred to a court in the municipality of El Banco, Magdalena.
- Alleged corruption in the execution of the contract for the provision of footwear and work clothing in 2018, with the contracting company Confecciones El Industrial LTDA, is currently in the investigation process. And it involves the defendants Rafael Martínez (breakup due to governor’s jurisdiction), Jimena Abril and Fabián Valle.
