The Office of the Attorney General is planning a transformation to combat the criminal dynamics of criminal organizations such as drug trafficking and corruption. The institution will pursue the assets of those who take possession of public resources within the framework of contracts related to the emergency caused by Covid – 19.
Within the framework of the Third Summit of Justice and the Ninth Version of the Awards for Excellence in Justice, the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, proposed during his speech a change in the way that institutions of justice should offer their services to Colombian citizens. Thus, he proposed pedagogical processes to allow an understanding of the judicial proceedings.
“It is necessary to continue explaining to the country, to journalists, to citizens; I have been emphatic at the Office of the Attorney General, we cannot speak to the citizens with codes and regulations, we must create and construct explanations for the citizens that allow them to understand what justice means”, said prosecutor Barbosa.
Likewise, he highlighted the transformation made by the institution to face the criminal dynamics that determine new challenges and the ways to combat them. In this sense, it has been decided to strengthen the investigation with the creation of a special unit to address tax crimes and assets seizures in processes where crimes are derived from drug trafficking and corruption in order to achieve a greater impact, especially in relation to criminal organizations.
One of the thematic axes of the Strategic Direction 2020-2024 is focused on combating criminal phenomena against public administration. The Office of the Attorney General will go beyond that simply bringing before the judges those responsible for the appropriation of public resources, as the case of contracts related to the social and economic emergency decreed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
“(Against) those people who took possession of public resources, we are initiating a cross strategy, in most of these cases, with the seizure of assets that will allow to subject people who steal public money to State actions but also it will allow us to pursuit the resources that are hidden by them, or their relatives or front men and for that reason we are multiplying the Office of the Attorney General´s actions”, emphasized the Attorney General.
The Office of the Attorney General has prioritized a strategy to strengthen its presence in the territories and especially in the distant ones. To do this, part of the resources obtained from assets seizure processes were used for the construction of buildings and the adaptation of headquarters in San José del Guaviare, Santa Marta, Popayán, Barranquilla and Valledupar.
On the other hand, the Attorney General Barbosa referred to the Accusatory Penal System of which he declared himself a defender, despite its shortcomings. Therefore, the institution works to strengthen it while adapting to new technologies such as the digital files. This is one of the objectives in the four-year roadmap of the Attorney General, and it is to digitalize one hundred percent of the processes by the end of his administration.
At the end of his speech, Barbosa Delgado reiterated the commitment of the Office of the Attorney General´s personnel who despite the adversity generated by the pandemic have worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, helping to build a better country.
The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.