A video posted on social networks showed the transfer of Olmedo de Jesús López Martínez and Sneyder Augusto Pinilla Álvarez to La Picota prisonafter the order was carried out for both to be taken to the penitentiary center.
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The two former officials are linked to the corruption scandal related to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (Ungrd), for which they currently respond to justice.
THE GUACHAFITA IS OVER AND THE PRIVILEGES ARE OVER! I gave the order and today it was carried out: Olmedo López and Sneyder Pinilla were transferred to La Picota. We are talking about money that was to bring water where there was not a drop, feed children, help families who had lost everything and attend to emergencies. Those involved in that scandal today respond to justice and will not have privileges while they face their processes. Let it be clear: in my Government there are no VIP prisons, custom-made pavilions or privileges. It doesn’t matter how much money, power, influence or friends someone has. Nobody here has a crown and nobody is above the law. Public money is sacred. Whoever touches her will have to answer to justice. And whoever is deprived of liberty will be where legally appropriate. There are no untouchables here. There are no crowns here. Here the law is fulfilled. Sign for the country! Long live Christ the King! (ADLE) 🇨🇴🐅
— Abelardo De La Espriella (@ABDELAESPRIELLA) October 6, 2026
In the publication that accompanies the images, the Government highlighted that the transfer was carried out and assured that those involved in the case will not have special benefits while their judicial processes progress.
“I gave the order and today it was carried out: Olmedo López and Sneyder Pinilla were transferred to La Picota”points out the message.
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The statement also refers to public resources that, as indicated in the publication, They were intended to meet the needs of the population and emergencies.
“We are talking about money that was to bring water where there was not a drop, feed children, help families who had lost everything and attend to emergencies,” reads the president’s message.
Inpec orders the transfer of Olmedo López and Sneyder Pinilla Photo:Bogotá Mayor’s Office / Archive
The president also maintained that those involved must respond to justice and that they will not have privileges during the development of their processes.
“Let it be clear: in my Government there are no VIP prisons, custom-made pavilions or privileges. It doesn’t matter how much money, power, influence or friends someone has. Here no one has a crown and no one is above the law,” the publication notes.
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The message concludes with a warning about the management of public resources: “Public money is sacred. Whoever touches it will have to answer to justice. And whoever is deprived of liberty will be where it legally corresponds.”
The video thus shows the transfer of López and Pinilla to La Picota, while the Government insists that the case must advance before the judicial authorities without differentiated treatments.
Sneyder Pinilla, Sandra Ortiz, Olmedo López, prosecutor Andrea Muñoz.UNGRD Photo:EL TIEMPO/ Private Archive
The publication ends with the phrase: “There are no untouchables here. There are no crowns here. Here the law is followed.”
What role did López and Pinilla have in the irregularities of the Ungrd?
Olmedo López and Sneyder Pinilla, who headed the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (Ungrd), were disciplined by the Attorney General’s Office. for irregularities related to the acquisition of 40 tank trucks intended for the water supply in La Guajira.
The investigation by the control agencies established that the hiring, carried out during the López and Pinilla administration, presented cost overruns of more than 54 percent compared to market reference values. The contract for the acquisition of the vehicles was signed by $46.8 billion.
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According to the Attorney General’s Office, The irregularities caused a capital loss of more than $16,000 million.
The control body noted that López, in his capacity as director of the Ungrdand Pinilla, as deputy director, participated in actions related to the management of the contracting and acquisition of vehicles.
Olmedo Lopez Photo:Olmedo Lopez
In July 2025, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed in the second instance the dismissal of both former officials. Furthermore, it imposed a general disability of 18 years for López and 20 years for Pinilla, sanctions that prevent them from holding public office during those periods.
The case also advanced in the Attorney General’s Office within the criminal process for the so-called ‘corruption scandal in the Ungrd’. According to the investigation of the accusing body, An illicit appropriation of $14,163 million would have been generated around the contract for the 40 tank cars.
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The Prosecutor’s Office established that part of these resources would have been used to pay gifts. Within the investigation, among other payments, $724 million related to Olmedo López and $342 million to Sneyder Pinilla.
The criminal investigation also involved contractor Luis Eduardo López Rosero, known as ‘El Pastuso’, whom the Prosecutor’s Office identified as one of the beneficiaries of the resources derived from the operation.
Sneyder Pinilla Photo:Courtesy Ungrd
In the case of Sneyder Pinilla, The court endorsed a preliminary agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office and sentenced him to five years and eight months in prison for the crimes of aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime and embezzlement by aggravated appropriation.
For its part, Olmedo López faces criminal proceedings for events related to irregular hiring at the Ungrd. The Prosecutor’s Office presented an indictment against him and the former director expressed his intention to accept the charges and obtain an early sentence.
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The criminal file also includes other actions related to contracts and agreements of the ORngrdamong them vehicle acquisition and service contracting processes that are the subject of independent investigations within the case.
In this way, the actions of the Attorney General’s Office and the Prosecutor’s Office have established responsibilities in different areas regarding irregularities detected in the Ungrd.
While the Attorney General’s Office imposed disciplinary sanctions against López and Pinilla for the case of the 40 tank cars, The Prosecutor’s Office has advanced in the criminal process to determine individual responsibilities and the consequences derived from the alleged diversion of public resources.
Daniela Gutiérrez Munar
dangut@eltiempo.com
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