President Gustavo Petro, affirmed this Saturday that “you accept” the call of the Supreme Court of Justice and recognized the independence of the General Prosecutor of the Nationbut warned not “will be silent” on the complaints presented, in a statement released in Lisbon.
(Petro talks about the reasons for Ocampo’s departure from his cabinet).
“I accept the call of the Honorable Supreme Court of Justice. I respect and will respect the autonomy and independence of the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation and all branches of public power. But as President of the Republic I will not remain silent in the face of these very serious complaints”, said the statement from Petro, who is on a working visit to the Portuguese capital.
The Colombian president thus responded to the controversy that arose after affirming that he is the head of the attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, who in turn announced that his family will leave the country for safety amid a confrontation over the official’s reservations about the decisions of the head of state related to his total peace policy.
“It is true that, in general terms, the Prosecutor is not subordinate to any official, but he is subordinate to the Constitution and the law,” added the statement, and “serious damage is done by the Attorney General to the Prosecutor’s Office itself by keeping silent” about the denunciations advanced by the press in relation to the murder of 200 people by the Clan del Golfo.
Petro stresses that the duty of the Prosecutor’s Office is to inform the Head of State about the ongoing investigations and, otherwise, “Not only is he disrespecting the president, but he is violating the Constitution.”
(‘Until now we had governed with Duque’s plan’, Petro).
“Serious damage is done by the Attorney General to the Prosecutor’s Office itself by remaining silent in the face of these denunciations, which if true would imply nothing more and nothing less than the complicity of its delegate prosecutor Daniel Hernández, from the closest circle of both Néstor Humberto Martínez and of Francisco Barbosa, in the murder by omission of more than 200 people, including children and members of the Public Force”, adds.
“Prosecutor Hernández continues in his position despite the fact that he was accused of malfeasance and for allegedly threatening a witness in the Odebrecht case, an investigation that, according to journalistic sources, is being targeted by the FBI”denounces the president.
Gustavo Petro meets with the Portuguese Prime Minister, the Socialist António Costa, and will be received on Sunday by the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, before concluding his two-day working visit to Lisbon.
EFE
