On September 25, 2023, the Attorney General’s Office reported an investigation into possible acts of corruption by the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá in the contracting with Metro de Bogotá.
On October 5, 2023, the Attorney General’s Office charged five members of the Midas S.A.S company, including Gabriel Alberto Giraldo Escudero, former mayor of Gamarra, Cesar, and his brother Jaime Helí Giraldo Escudero, for allegedly signing false contracts to facilitate the payment of bribes from Odebrecht.
On October 6, 2023, the Attorney General’s Office filed an indictment against the former Minister of Transportation, Cecilia Álvarez, for allegedly taking actions that allowed the execution of two irregular modifications to the Ruta del Sol II contract.
On October 9, 2023, the Attorney General’s Office charged three former ANI officials for their alleged responsibility for irregular amendments to the Ruta del Sol II contract. On October 14, 2023, the Public Ministry disqualified Luis Fernando Andrade, the former President of the ANI, from holding public office for 15 years. The disqualification arose out of a corruption investigation by the Public Ministry. Mr. Andrade was found to have illegally benefitted third parties in relation to the Ruta del Sol construction project. Mr. Andrade has the right to appeal this decision.
On November 1, 2023, the Attorney General’s Office filed an indictment against former presidential candidate Óscar Iván Zuluaga Escobar and his campaign manager, David Zuluaga Martínez, for concealing the contributions that Odebrecht made to cover the campaign’s advertising expenses during the 2014 elections. The indictment alleges that the contributions violated article 109 of the Political Constitution, which prohibits political parties from receiving resources from foreign natural or legal persons for electoral campaigns.
On September 20, 2023, the Procuraduría ordered the opening of a disciplinary investigation against the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Álvaro Leyva Durán, and the Secretary General of the Ministry, José Antonio Salazar Ramírez, for alleged irregularities in the suspension of the passport procurement process.
On January 24, 2024, the Procuraduría ordered the three month provisional suspension of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Álvaro Leyva Durán, for irregularities in the suspension of the passport procurement process. On February 7, 2024, the Procuraduría confirmed the provisional suspension of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Álvaro Leyva Durán.
On February 8, 2024, the Ambassador of Colombia to the United States, Luis Gilberto Murillo was designated as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Affairs
Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, President Gustavo Petro made statements regarding the conflict in the Middle East. On October 15, 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel summoned Colombia’s Ambassador to Israel to deliver a reprimand concerning President Petro’s statements. Israel has suspended exports of security and defense equipment to Colombia.
Imports from Israel accounted for 0.2% of total imports to Colombia (including both the private and public sector) in each of the years 2018 through 2022. For the eight-month period ended August 31, 2023, total imports from Israel accounted for 0.1% of total imports.
Exports to Israel accounted for between 1% and 2% of total exports from Colombia (including both the private and public sector) in each of the years 2018 through 2022. For the eight-month period ended August 31, 2023, total exports to Israel accounted for 1% of total exports.
On October 31, 2023, the Government expressed its concerns with the military actions by Israel defense forces in areas densely populated by civilians in Gaza and reiterated the importance of respecting international humanitarian law. President Petro has called back for consultation the Colombian ambassador to Israel.
S-21