One of the best-known prisons in Colombia is the Bogotá Metropolitan Prison and Penitentiary Complex, better known as La Picota. The prison is divided into two sections, the inmates are separated into ten patios and its capacity is for 2,907 prisoners; However, in recent years the level of overcrowding has not dropped below 50%.
Although it may seem incredible, Between 2015 and 2016, Mayer Mizrachi was held in this prison. On May 5, he was elected the new mayor of Panama City.in a fact that generated multiple scandals in Colombia.
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Currently, Mizrachi is referenced for being the founder of the company Geeky Motorswhich sells electric vehicles, but in September 2015 he was arrested in Cartagena after the authorities in Panama issued an arrest warrant against him with a red Interpol circular, which reported that he was wanted for alleged fraud against the public administration.
On several occasions, Mizrachi affirmed that the accusations against him were part of a persecution perpetrated by the Panamanian government due to his closeness to the outgoing president Ricardo Martinelli.which caused him to remain confined in La Picota for six months.
It should be noted that Mizrachi is the son of Aaron Roni Mizrachi, Martinelli’s brother-in-law, who has been accused of money laundering in Panama.
During the time he was in Colombia he tried to request political asylum, but this was denied, so he ended up paying bail of $100,000 and was released on June 22, 2016. Years later, the charges against him were retired and that allowed him to be a candidate for Mayor of Panama City.
After traveling to Panama, his departure from Colombia became a national scandal that led to the then director of La Picota, Fabio Becerra, being suspended, due to the divided positions that existed between Migración Colombia and Inpec.
The main basis of the conflict was that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that Inpec should make the Panamanian available to Migration Colombia so that he could be expelled from the country, but While a patrol was waiting for Mizrachi outside the prison, he was released with Becerra’s signature..
Despite having been released, Mizrachi has recalled on several occasions the time he spent in Colombia, ensuring that this fact was evidence of persecution against him.
“Four years ago today I was arrested in Colombia by Interpol at the request of the Government of Juan Carlos Varela, his Public Ministry and his Judicial Branch. That red alert from Interpol that caused my arrest led me to spend 6 months in prison in La Picota, one of the worst prisons in Colombia. After managing to obtain my freedom, Interpol found that Panama gave it false information to produce the Red Alert and my arrest,” said the current mayor of Panama City in 2019.
His arrest in Cartagena and the time he spent detained in Bogotá were part of the issues that Mizrachi mentioned during his campaign to become mayor of Panama City, since He assured that the time he spent in prison ended up being an opportunity to improve.
“Yes, everything was unfair, but I wouldn’t change anything. Problems are nothing more than opportunities in disguise and it depends on ourselves whether we take advantage of those opportunities or rejoice in mere martyrdom.”
