In the last two years, the Prosecutor’s Office has seized 874 tons of cocaine and marijuana and destructed 761 laboratories.
During the launch of the comprehensive strategy against drug trafficking – Estrategia Integral Contra el Narcotráfico – ‘Esmeralda’ in Cartagena (Bolívar), the Attorney General Francisco Barbosa Delgado, stated that the institution will continue with its constant task of combating the phenomenon of drug trafficking and its illegal income in the country.
“The fight against drug trafficking must be an essential value for Colombia, there are no nuances, and those who are naïve when are talking about the legalization of the cocaine market, are basically cleaning up the image of some criminals in this country and in the world. No one can suggest these ideas if there are no global agreements in the fight against this phenomenon”, stressed the Attorney General Francisco Barbosa.
He stated that the resources derived from this scourge are nourishing organized crime in the country, a fact that has generated disputes over the territory between the FARC and ELN dissents, in areas such as Arauca, Cauca, Nariño, Putumayo, among others.
“The drug trafficking business has been gradually increasing in those places and it is important to determine mechanisms to combat the illegality,” said the Attorney General
He assured that the challenges in this matter are enormous, but thanks to the coordinated work, important results have also been achieved, such as the arrest of 2,150 people and the dismantling of 108 criminal organizations in the last two years.
“1534 drug trafficking offenders were arrested, 8,600 created to micro-trafficking, all of them were prosecuted. When the Prosecutor’s Office has structural investigations on these issues, we achieve an effectiveness of more than 80% with prison sentences”, highlighted the Attorney General Francisco Barbosa.
Regarding the arrest warrants for extradition purposes, he stated that 483 have been signed, 370 of them have been handed over to the United States, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador.
In the last two years, the Prosecutor’s Office has achieved the seizure of 874 tons of cocaine and marijuana, in addition to the destruction of 761 laboratories.
Seizure of assets
“Regarding this issue, I highlight the work carried out through the Argenta strategy of the Office of the Attorney General which was created on the basis of an essential foundation: all crimes linked to territorial security, organized crime, such as corruption, human rights, environment, money laundering, money laundering, and all topics addressed by the Delegate office on Territorial Security concerning micro-trafficking (…) are being analyzed and viewed jointly”, said the Attorney General Barbosa.
In addition, he stated that in order for these actions to be more effective, summary trials and assets seizure judges are required, in order to place those resources at the National Treasury´s disposal and be able to distribute them.
“The secret against crime and drug trafficking (…) is not to offer them some help but to persecute them. The secret of justice in Colombia to be able to act firmly is to understand that behind all kinds of criminal activities, there is a connection with assets and that they commit crimes due to the assets and therefore they must be persecuted”, he concluded.
When we speak, results follow.