• This plan is part of the itinerancy strategy that seeks to strengthen access to justice throughout the country in addition to prioritizing cases related to domestic and sexual violence.
  • Within the framework of the launching of this plan, the Attorney General delivered a balance about the fight against crime in the department.
  • Between 2020 and 2021 the advance in the rate of clarification on sexual crimes and domestic violence in Boyacá tripled.

The Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, accompanied by the Deputy Attorney General, Martha Janeth Mancera and the Delegate Director on Public Safety, Luisa Obando; launched the itinerant clarification in Boyacá Ruta del Esclarecimiento Itinerante and delivered results of the fight against crime in this area of ​​the country.

“It was necessary to start this plan here in Boyacá (…) we needed to speed up this initiative to go through various municipalities of the department. (…) We want our Attorney General´s Office to be present within the framework of our itinerancy and investigative activities (…), but also to be near citizens. Institutions are useless if we do not surround our people”, said the Attorney General Francisco Barbosa.

The Attorney General stressed that with this initiative that is led by the national Working Group on gender-based violence which deals with crimes that affect women, children and adolescents appointed to the Delegate Office on Public Safety, it seeks to promote investigative activities in cases of domestic and sexual violence in that department.

Paipa, Duitama and Santa Rosa de Viterbo are the first municipalities of this territorial strategy that will run until August 25. During these three days, about 280 investigative activities will be carried out in prioritized cases.

The Attorney General Barbosa stressed that these activities seek to solve the cases and give a message of tranquility to citizens that the Office of the Attorney General is in charge of the processes.

The Prosecutors, CTI investigators, and other officials specialized in these criminal phenomena will conduct interviews with witnesses, forensic interviews, it will file indictments, among other actions, which will allow the clarification of the cases.

According to the analysis, these territories have the highest number of cases of domestic and sexual violence in Boyacá, therefore, it is important to carry out such priority actions.

Between August and December, 10 municipalities and cities in Boyacá will be visited  as part of this initiative: Duitama, Paipa, Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Soracá, Ventaquemada, Belén, Labranzagrande, Pisba, Cerinza and Tunja.

The headquarters of itinerant services of the Office of the Attorney General will visit each of these areas to speed up processes, review the status of the investigations, make suggestions about them and carry out actions to protect victims who require it.

These visits to the territories include interinstitutional fairs to offer citizens some services and there will be activities to prevent crimes such as domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and digital risks.

The events will be accompanied by Futuro Colombia, migration authorities in Colombia Migración Colombia, the Colombian Institute (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar ICBF), Legal Medicine, National Police, National Army, Ombudsman’s Office, Boyacá Government, municipal Mayor’s Offices, United Nations Office on  Drugs and Crime (Unodc), Ministry of Labor, municipal and rural schools.

Progress made in the clarification of sexual crimes

Between 2020 and 2021, the clarification rate on sexual crimes and domestic violence increased.

Fight against crime in Boyacá

As part of the launching of the so-called plan Ruta del Esclarecimiento Itinerante, the Attorney General of the Nation delivered a balance of the actions that have been carried out in this department against crime.

According to the Attorney General, 323 people have been arrested so far 2021, and 97 of them belonged to criminal gangs (62 with a prison sentence and 30 with home detention) and 226 for crimes such as theft, drug trafficking, sexual crimes, domestic violence, extortion, homicide, among others.

Likewise, William Anderson Salazar, alias Jefferson, the alleged leader of the ELN, was arrested. A prison sentence was imposed for the crime of aggravated extortion.

Among the dismantled organizations are Los Jefes, Los Quinchas and Los Jíbaros. ‘Los Jefes’ are accused of the commercialization of stolen motorcycles and the sale of substances in various municipalities of Boyacá.

The criminal group was allegedly comprised of five arrested people by virtue of a judicial order and went sent to prison.

 ‘Los Cancheros’ were sentenced

The forcefulness of the evidence collected by prosecutors of the Sectional Office in Boyaca allowed the conviction of 25 members of the structure known as Los Cancheros. This is a  drug trafficking network dismantled in 2019 that was affecting children and adolescents’ health and safety in the municipality of Chiquinquirá.

After signing a preliminary agreement, all the defendants accepted their responsibility in the crimes of conspiracy to commit a crime, drug trafficking and use of minors for the commission of crimes. They were sentenced to between 4 and 6 years in prison.

The judicial police work showed that the illegal organization used minors to enter hallucinogens into educational institutions, while others members did the same in parks and public roads.