A high-profile former Colombian senator, detained for collaborating with paramilitary groups and drug trafficking organizations, was denied bail by the Prosecutor General’s Office Tuesday.
In a sworn statement before a magistrate, demobilized paramilitary figure Armando Lugo, alias “El Cabezon,” asserted Senator Juan Carlos Martinez had links with paramilitary group the AUC. Lugo alleged Martinez had cultivated a relationship with Ever Veloza, alias “HH”, former commander of the AUC’s Calima Bloc.
According to Lugo, Martinez attended as many as three meetings with the paramilitary outfit in 2000, and allegedly took part in arranging the shipment of a total of 500kg of cocaine to be exported from the port of Buenaventura, on Colombia’s Pacific coast.
The decision means Martinez will likely return to jail after being released June 27, after a separate 2011 conviction linked him to paramilitary groups. The exact location of his detention has yet to be confirmed by officials.
