After a failed presidential aspiration and being charged by the Prosecutor’s Office, Daniel Quintero could reach the government of Gustavo Petro as superintendent of Health. Landing in that position, in addition to being marked by problems in the health sector, makes sense in the political arena due to the relationship between the former mayor of Medellin and the Executive.
The Presidency of the Republic It has already uploaded to its web system the resume of Daniel Quintero, who was mayor of the capital of Antioquia between 2020 and 2023, years between which serious chapters of corruption occurred in different public entities. The most resonant is that of Living Watersfor which he is responsible along with 12 other people for alleged irregularities in the restitution of the lot located in El Poblado.
The indictment against Quintero says that between February 2020 and May 2023, as part of a preliminary conciliation, Its former officials apparently financially favored city businessmenchanging the free transfer of the Aguas Vivas property to a sale. In this way they could be paid close to 40.5 billion pesos.
Daniel Quintero would arrive as national superintendent of Health. Photo:THE TIME.
In the case of Quintero, since the first attempt to supposedly benefit the businessmen ended up failing, he and his former Secretary General Fabio Andrés García Trujilloapparently, irregularly issued administrative acts to increase the valuation of the land, deliver it to individuals and allow them to carry out urban planning activities prohibited in the Territorial Planning Plan (POT).
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, with this change the crimes of embezzlement by appropriation, prevarication by action and undue interest in the execution of contracts were committed.
Living Waters Case. Photo:THE TIME.
The criminal process
The accusation against Daniel Quintero was made a year ago, and since then the process has had various objections from defense lawyers, including Luis Antonio Hernández – the former mayor’s attorney -, Juan Felipe Criollo and Santiago Trespalacios, due to the alleged inconsistencies of the prosecutor Yarlecy Mena when putting together the file.
The indictment was presented months later and the hearing was set up at the end of last year. However, the call for trial has not been formalized because different defenders are focused on explaining why the accusation should be annulled. This is how they have had it in the last hearings, in which we could see how this stage culminates on April 29.
That day there will be another procedure and once the defenders present their requests for annulment, the judge in the case will have to decide whether to accept them or not. Once the verdict is given, the defenders could appeal that decision and the case would be studied, in this phase, in the Superior Court of Medellín. “I don’t think that process will be resolved this year”a source told this newspaper.
Headquarters of the Attorney General’s Office. Photo:Jesús Blanquicet/El Tiempo
The sanction of the Attorney General’s Office
One of the crucial decisions of the Attorney General, Gregorio Eljach, was the confirmation of the sanction against Daniel Quintero for his phrase “the change in first”, with which he participated in politics as mayor.
At first, the Disciplinary Chamber of Judgment of Popular Election Servants of The Attorney General’s Office had disqualified him from holding public office for six months.warning that with his phrase Quintero favored the Historical Pact in 2022.
After reviewing the case, Eljach concluded that “the conduct displayed by Daniel Quintero Calle, in his capacity as mayor of Medellín, affected the function, by violating the prohibition of participation in politics established in the Constitutionthus affecting the democratic balance, by taking sides in the electoral contest and compromising public confidence in the neutrality of the administration.”
That decision could be challenged in administrative litigation as it was an official elected by popular vote. It is still unknown if this procedure was carried out.
Carlos López – @CarlosL49 – carben@eltiempo.com
