Latin America
Related: About this forumColombia's new chief prosecutor: no experience in criminal law despite 99% impunity rate
by Adriaan Alsema November 18, 2019
Colombias president Ivan Duque has finished his shortlist of Prosecutor General candidates, none of whom have any experience with criminal law.
Duques shortlist obeys to a political tradition of providing the Supreme Court with a shortlist of allies rather than competent prosecutors or executives.
Whoever the incoming chief prosecutor will be, all are more likely to protect Duques political interests rather than lift the Prosecutor Generals Office from the profound crisis it is in.
When former chief Prosecutor General Nestor Humberto Martinez took office in 2016, he reported an impunity rate of 99%. Three years later, Martinez himself is under investigation and the impunity rate hasnt changed a bit, according to the Global Impunity Index.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-new-chief-prosecutor-experience-in-criminal-law-no-requirement/
SterlingPound
(428 posts)sandensea
(21,627 posts)He was appointed on an "interim" basis in order to skirt Senate approval - two years ago already.
Like Duque's friend Camilo Gómez, Casal, 61, has no experience as a prosecutor - mostly as a court bureaucrat.
Since 2017, he's mainly used the powerful post of Chief Federal Prosecutor to remove federal prosecutors Macri found "inconvenient" while protecting the felonious Carlos Stornelli - known locally as "Extornelli" for extorting false testimony against Macri opponents and at least $12 million in ransom money (the ongoing d'Alessio case).
Casal took over following the scandalous removal of his predecessor Alejandra Gils Carbó - apparently because she refused to quash the investigation of the Macri family's $270 million debt to the Postal Service.
I can't imagine what's left to investigate though: they've owed that money since 2001 (Néstor Kirchner rescinded their Menem-era concession to run the postal service in 2003, due to their non-payment), and have merely used their extensive judicial connections to welch on it.
No wonder Trump was so impressed with Mr. Macrisis - until, of course, he lost. Trump doesn't like losers - and boy, was he ever.