• The Attorney General reiterated that there are no conflicts of competencies with The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (La Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz JEP) and pointed out that they are working together to avoid impunity.
  • He also stated that next week, he will meet with his counterparts in the region to analyze joint strategies against transnational crime such as the smuggling of migrants.

During the Justice and Law Summit ‘Cumbre de la Justicia y del Derecho’, called by the Corporation known as Corporación Excelencia en la Justicia (CEJ), the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, was emphatic in indicating that his commitment and the institution’s commitment are the defense of human rights and the consolidation of peace in Colombia.

“I want to highlight the work we have done with the JEP. I am an Attorney General in favor of peace, of human rights, which has been my DNA all my life. I am not leaving this Office without doing my bit towards the advance of JEP’s functioning”, said the Attorney General.

He stressed that a joint and harmonious work is being carried out with the JEP to guarantee that the criminal acts that took place during the armed conflict in Colombia do not go unpunished.

“We are reaching agreements with JEP to be able, according to the jurisprudence of that jurisdiction, to go beyond what was allowed in the circular letter that prevented the Office of the Attorney General´s Office from carrying out its work and from bringing charges”, said the Attorney General Barbosa Delgado. He indicated that proof of which has been the investigative actions for extrajudicial executions. “We already have a circular letter that allowed us to accuse General Mario Montoya, who allegedly committed 105 homicides as a perpetrator of ‘falsos positivos’ in Colombia or extrajudicial executions. This country will see the Attorney General transfering that accusation or those actions to the JEP; and hopefully, time will allow me to go and personally support that accusation so that, decisions can be made in this country”, he said.

In this regard, he clarified that between the JEP and the Office of the Attorney General there is no conflict of competencies and that there is constant joint work with the president of that jurisdiction, Eduardo Cifuentes Muñoz.

Full amnesties

Regarding the public proposal of granting full amnesties, the Attorney General reiterated his rejection towards this possibility, on the understanding that it is outlawed both in the International Human Rights Law and in International Humanitarian Law.

“We cannot go backward. There cannot be people who want to clean up their image with full amnesties because that is not going to be allowed, at least by me, and as long as I am Attorney General. I prefer to say it rather than to be reproached by citizens after leaving this position”, he emphasized.

Meetings with international organizations and the transnational fight

The Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, will hold several meetings with representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Organization of American States (OAS), among other international organizations, in a conference that will take place this Friday in Washington (United States). The meetings seek to exchange visions of institutional support and defense of justice in Colombia.

On the other hand, he revealed that next week he will hold meetings with nine Attorney Generals or heads of Public Ministries of the region to study strategies to combat transnational crime and smuggling of migrants.

“I will meet with them on Monday and Tuesday to establish joint work and case prioritization strategies against organized crime, both in Central and South America”, he said.

Balance of actions carried out by the Office of the Attorney General

At the summit, the Attorney General presented the most important results yielded last year, in which itinerant and work in the territories have been the central axis in the fight against crime. He stated that 1,147,304 hearings and more than 257,000 accusations have been carried out, and that 117,000 detention measures and 72,968 convictions have been obtained.

“More than $18 trillion taken from crime is a very important dimension. We already held a meeting with SAE to see how we are going to monetize those resources”, he highlighted. Regarding the activities against domestic and sexual violence, he assured that he started the itinerant clarification plan named ‘Ruta de Esclarecimiento Itinerante’ in Boyacá to provide the institution´s services to the territories.

When we speak, results follow.