International

The protagonists of the Colombian Government’s Risk Unit scandal

Two senior officials of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) have been formally accused today for a large case of corruption in which other members of the Government close to the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, congressmen and politicians from different parties could be involved.

For the moment, the Prosecutor’s Office has accused the former director of the UNGRD Olmedo López and the deputy director for Disaster Management of the same entity Sneyder Pinilla for the crimes of conspiracy to commit aggravated crime, embezzled for aggravated appropriation, undue interest in the conclusion of contracts, ideological falsehood in a public document and falsehood in a private document.

It all began in February when the embezzlement of 46.8 billion pesos (about 11.7 million dollars) was uncovered in the purchase by the UNGRD of 40 tanker trucks to bring drinking water to desert areas of the department of La Guajira.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, López was left with 724 million pesos (about 179,700 dollars) and Pinilla with 342 million pesos (about 85,000 dollars).

The case has been adding the names of other possible ones linked to irregular contracts and the distribution of money between politicians, events that occurred in 2023.

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1. Olmedo López

Militant of the left-wing Party Alternative Democratic Pole. In the 2010 elections he was campaign director of Petro, who in April last year appointed him director of the UNGRD, a position he held until February 2024 when he resigned due to this case of corruption, since it was during his administration that the contract for the purchase of the tankers was signed.

Last Saturday, in the installation speech of the new session of Congress, Petro apologized for the corruption in the UNGRD and for having appointed López to head that entity.

2. Sneyder Pinilla
He was deputy director of the UNGRD under the direction of López and is alleged to be the one who allegedly delivered money to congressmen and members of the Government for the contracts. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, he received 1% of the budget of 100 billion pesos (24.7 million dollars) that were allocated for the purchase of the tankers.

3. Luis Eduardo López Rosero

He is the third accused by the Prosecutor’s Office for being a contractor of the carts and, according to the accusation, having received 13% of the tender. He went from being a small merchant to entering the wheel of large state contracts through three companies in his name with which he has achieved, with the UNGRD alone, more than 155 contracts totaling 160 billion pesos (about 39.6 million dollars) between 2012 and 2024, according to Noticias Caracol.

4. Sandra Ortiz

After being a congressman for several terms with the Green Party, Ortiz was appointed by Petro in May 2023 as Presidential Counselor for the Regions. It has been pointed out – but there is still no judicial accusation – of being the link between Pinilla and the then president of Congress, Iván Name, to deliver the bribes, a complaint that she rejects.

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5. Ivan Name

Member of the Green Party, he was president of the Senate in the previous legislature (2023-2024). According to the allegations, part of the money embezzled in the purchase of tankers was used to pay bribes to Name and other congressmen in exchange for support in Congress for the reforms of the Petro Government. Name has rejected these accusations and has not yet received an accusation.

6. Andrés Calle

Lawyer and member of the Liberal Party, he was president of the House of Representatives in the 2023-2024 legislature. As Name, it is pointed out – but not formally accused – of having received bribes, in three days and in banknotes in briefcases, in exchange for support in Congress to promote and approve the Social Reforms of the Government. Calle has also rejected the accusations.

7. Carlos Ramón González

It is the last known name in the case. He was Petro’s right-hand man as director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (Dapre) and is currently the head of the National Intelligence Directorate. During the hearing of accusations, the Prosecutor’s Office said that Ortiz had González’s orders, as his direct boss as director of the Dapre, to allegedly deliver the coimas. He still received a formal accusation.

8. Ricardo Bonilla

The Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, received accusations as the person who authorized the disbursement of the UNGRD budget and it was also, according to a Pinilla chat published by Noticias Caracol, who coordinated the award of three contracts for 92 billion pesos (about 23 million dollars) to benefit six congressmen in exchange for supporting the expansion of the Government’s debt quota.

Bonilla said today that she respects the work of the Prosecutor’s Office and that she is calm, waiting for her “opportunity before justice” to defend herself.

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International

Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.

“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.

“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.

Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.

International

Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.

However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.

International

Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.

“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.

The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.

His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”