In the framework of the International sessions on Criminal Law held at Universidad El Externado, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Jorge Fernando Perdomo participated with a speech regarding Organized crime in a post conflict scenario in which he explained how to identify these structures and challenges that must be faced by law enforcement authorities when combating these organizations.
At the beginning, the senior official highlighted the Attorney General´s Office efforts to achieve positive results during this struggle. He said “the first thing we did was to strengthen the institutional structure at the Attorney General´s Office in order to fight against organized crime” referring to all changes which allowed to have Prosecutor´s Offices and a Specialized Judicial Police which are currently producing results in the fight against criminality.
He also added “during these two years and a half he have made a big effort to change for an investigative perspective since we are currently investigating within a context , in a management way, with prioritization”. He stated that the Attorney General´s Office is thinking about a plan to fight against Organized Crime for the next five years by detecting the features of this phenomenon to understand it and identifying judicial measures that can help to deal with it. In this regard, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General stated that there is a misunderstanding about the treatment that must be given to it since it is not understood, “we misunderstand an organization that can be attributed with crimes of conspiracy to commit crimes with a group of people who is just committing crimes as coauthors (…) criminal organizations have a vocation of continuity in time”.
However, regarding the fight against Organized Crime there have been limitations and mistakes. Perdomo said that “the big challenge for the Attorney General´s Office is to familiarize with the investigative model and consolidate it in years to come in order to avoid duplication of efforts and unnecessary economic expenses”. It is an advantage to investigate cases in context and not as isolated cases.
Moreover, the Attorney General´s Office will submit a proposal to the Congress. “We are on the verge of presenting a project to modify some points of the Accusatory Penal System in order to make more dynamic its operation” and also, it will be included the issue of organized crime.
“The Accusatory Penal System provides a lot of guaranties and respects human rights, but we have to develop it, correct mistakes and understand it very well therefore, we will try a reform since Colombia must be prepared to fight against organized crime and mainly if there is a peace process” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General.
At his speech he said that according to the International Humanitarian Law regulations, these groups cannot be understood (…). It is clear that these criminal organizations are not related to armed conflict, these are criminal organizations whose aim is the patrimonial increase. There is not an armed conflict with Bacrim, therefore, transitional Justice cannot be applied to its members, on the contrary, ordinary justice must be applied to them in order to fight effectively against organized crime.
The senior official also said in the framework of International Humanitarian Law, including Bacrim in the armed conflict or considering it as an armed group it would mean that we want to perpetuate our armed conflict since a peace process or demobilization cannot be carried out with these groups. We have strengthen the institutional capacity to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by its members. They must be submitted to justice and their economic structure must be weaken with measures such as Assets Forfeiture (Extinción de dominio)”. He said “it is not just to submitt them, to have ordinary justice tools but to show results, therefore he showed exact figures of the Attorney General´s Office struggle during 2011 – 2014.
During this period of time, 5,546 charges were brought against members of criminal organizations, 4.813 preventive detention measures were issued; 979 of them pled guilty; 2,236 indictments were issued and there were 1,670 convictions.
Assets Forfeiture: in spanish Extinction de Dominio . A constitutional action to take control of properties illegally obtained. It intends to recover profits earned by criminal organizations.