The government of President Gustavo Petro suspended the agenda of talks with the criminal structures of Medellin after it was revealed that the leaders of those illegal organizations hired a vallenato party in yard 1 of La Paz prison, in the municipality of Itagui, where the dialogue is taking place.
The Government delegates at that table reported that the party is not part of the guarantees of the functioning of the socio-legal conversation space, and distanced themselves from the embarrassing incident.
This is the third scandalous episode in recent months in the Government of Petro’s approaches with criminal organizations from the capital of Antioquia, in its aim of materializing the idea of “total peace.” The first was the so-called tarimazo, when the head of state shared a stage in a public square with the same criminals. The second was the announcement that the Prosecutor’s Office suspended the arrest warrants against those bosses, at the request of President Petro.
The three moments have provoked strong reactions in Colombian society, which finds it difficult to understand the relaxation of the national government in the face of crime. For example, regarding the vallenato party organized by the mafia leaders in the Itagui prison, the governor of Antioquia, Andres Julian Rendon, recalled the exploits of the drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, who also did as he pleased while he was imprisoned.
Party that produced general rejection
The inmates paid for a concert by the singers Nelson Velasquez and his group, and Luis Posada. The event led to the immediate dismissal of the acting deputy director of the prison and the opening of an internal investigation by the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec), which includes seven officials who were on duty during Velasquez’s visit, and relatives of the inmates who have the privilege of having companions on Wednesdays, for being peace negotiators.
“We categorically and strongly reject what happened, and as of today, we suspend the agenda of dialogue with the spokespersons of the Structures until there is clarity about their responsibility in the events that occurred,” said the Government delegates, headed by Senator Isabel Cristina Zuleta, in a statement. The party took place on Wednesday, and in addition to the well-known artist, it included alcoholic beverages and catering service for the provision of food from outside the prison.
For its part, Inpec warned that the measures taken “seek to clarify the causes of the visit to the prison of the mentioned artist, to act decisively in the face of possible irregularities during the entry procedure,” and announced the first decisions due to the scandal. “This activity was, at no time, approved or authorized by the national government, the Ministry of Justice, nor the general direction of the Institute.”
Colombia learned of the party of the inmates in the Itagui prison through the complaint made on social media by Medellin councilwoman Claudia Carrasquilla, who showed photographs and a video of the entry of the artists into the prison.
“Party since the morning with Nelson Velasquez?” Carrasquilla asked. “In this country, nothing surprises anymore … but it does outrage. What could they be celebrating in a maximum security prison that we do not know about? While citizens live in fear, criminals seem to be partying. Who is really in charge?”
This is a new setback for the “total peace” policy of President Petro, which so far has not managed to consolidate any of the dialogue processes it has started with different armed actors.
His ambitious plan includes organizations with the profile of political offenders with whom the government is authorized to carry out peace processes, as well as common criminals who only have the option of submitting to justice, since there is still no legal framework in Colombia that allows progress in dialogues with them.