Interior minister, Armando BenedettiHe delivered President Gustavo Petro, in the Casa de Nariño, a document dated May 15, 2023 in which the closing of the investigation for illicit enrichment against him was communicated. The trade was signed by Gabriel Jaimesat that fiscal moment delegated before the Supreme Court of Justice.
That same day – May 15 – an audio was recorded in which Benedetti assures Laura Sarabia, then Chief of Cabinet and today Chancellor, who, He is “well ranked” in the Prosecutor’s Office and that he would not have inconvenience to be appointed in any position, despite the judicial processes that surrounded him.
The coincidence between the date of the research closing document and conversation generates doubts about How Benedetti knew about the judicial decision with such immediacy. But this is not all.
The document, revealed exclusively by Caracol Radio, indicates the closure of the case, but 10 days later, the own Gabriel Jaimes declared the nullity of his first decision.
In a new brief, he left without effect the document that Benedetti had taken to the president. In an official communication, Jaimes acknowledged having met twice with the ministerbut said that he always acted “within the framework of the law and in fulfilling my duties.”
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The change of position of the prosecutor, however, increases the questions: Why was the closing of the investigation annulled? What motivated Jaimes to reverse his own decision in less than two weeks? How did Benedetti obtain the document the same day he was signed? and Did the prosecutor Jaimes did the then Ambassador Benedetti to send him this notification of May 15 to reassure President Petro, only to reverse that decision days later?
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How was the process against the Minister of the Interior?
Recall that months before these facts, in September 2022, the Instruction Chamber of the Supreme Court had sent the process to the Prosecutor for the Prosecutor’s Office for Illicit enrichment against Benedettiwhen the politician was appointed as ambassador to Caracas and that court lost competition to investigate it.
A year and a half later, on July 19, the period ended as Colombia Ambassador to Venezuela for Benedetti. After weeks of speculation about his departure, his resignation was finally effective thanks to the signing of Decree 1002 of 2023 by the Foreign Ministry. Now, two years later, Benedetti is the most powerful man in palace.
So far, neither Minister Benedetti nor prosecutor Gabriel Jaimes, have delivered detailed explanations about these facts, which they put Under the magnifying glass the independence between the judicial branch and the Executive Power.
