Colombia’s Inspector General began an investigation Thursday against former Interior and Justice Minister Fabio Valencia Cossio for allegedly ignoring internally displaced people.
Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez Maldonado accused Cossio of his alleged failure in implementing projects designed to assist Colombia’s displaced population.
According to Ordoñez, the main problems that have occurred in the delivery of aid have to do with “non-existent or insufficient” action plans for receiving the requests of the displaced as well as a lack of institutional response in land repair and social reintegration programs.
Since 2008 there have been 319 applications submitted requesting disciplinary investigations, of which 126 were found to merit disciplinary actions against officials for irregularities in attention to programs.
More than 51 inquiries have also been made against officials for these irregularities, including 13 council members and six members of the joint community action board.
The departments of Arauca, Cauca, Sucre, and Cordoba are the areas with the highest number of complaints from those who are displaced and recipients of little attention.
