Memo Fantasma Released from Colombian Prison Due to Delays in Starting Trial

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo, alias Memo Fantasma during one of his remote hearings was released after being in custody without trial for over a year.

The noted drug trafficker and former member of the Bolívar Central Bloc (BCB) of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo, alias Memo Fantasma, was released on the afternoon of this Friday, August 5, due to the expiration of terms.

Acevedo was one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the country. His criminal life began in the times of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel. Memo Fantasma went unnoticed for more than 30 years by the Colombian authorities. He became "a businessman" who lived for a time in Spain before his capture.

Memo Fantasma is being investigated for allegedly laundering 54,000 million pesos from the Central Bolívar Bloc of the AUC, a structure led by Carlos Mario Jiménez, alias Macaco, who demobilized in 2007. Guillermo León Acevedo, accused of some 15,000 deaths attributed to the self-defense groups,  was not part of the demobilization and continued to launder assets from underground.

The judicial process against Memo Fantasma has been long and, in any case, this new free man will still be linked to the investigation for the crimes of conspiracy to commit a crime, illicit enrichment, and money laundering.

The request for release was raised this Wednesday at the Paloquemao Judicial Complex, in a third attempt by his defense to obtain the freedom of alias Memo Fantasma. The defense argued that 286 days had passed since they filed his indictment, but the trial against him never began and the maximum legal term is 240 days, so the accused would be spending unnecessary time as an insurance measure.

The delays in starting the trial of this defendant have not been the responsibility of him or his defense, according to the latter, and they have not sustained delaying maneuvers to force his release due to the expiration of terms. On the contrary, he points out that circumstances beyond his control have arisen: requests for postponement and rescheduling from the Attorney General's Office, problems with the court's agenda, and other matters beyond Acevedo's control.

The accusing entity expressed its disagreement with the decision but did not present resources to appeal it. Neither did the delegate of the Attorney General's Office. ”They took a long time digitizing the evidence; the delay is not only the responsibility of the defense but also of the Prosecutor's Office, "said the official from the Public Ministry.

It should be noted that the Prosecutor's Office had tried to extend the insurance measure, but on June 30 that intention was ruled out. According to the judge, the delegate prosecutor was not able to give weighty arguments for that decision to be made. In this sense, as a scolding, the judge stated that a “less simple” argument could be presented in the face of the risks that persisted or existed in this case. “No circumstances have been presented to reach that conclusion, you didn't say anything at all,” she concluded.

However, justice has already made some decisions regarding those involved: a guarantee control judge released his mother, Margoth de Jesús Giraldo Ramírez, and his grandmother, María Enriqueta Ramírez. Both were involved in the same case and were accused of figurehead, for unjustified assets of 4,973 million pesos and 1,654 million pesos, respectively.

Source Infobae