The government of Abelardo De La Espriella filed this Tuesday the bill for the submission of organized armed groups. The presentation was made by the Ministers of Justice, Iván Cancino, and Interior, Rodrigo Lara, and is the first major proposal of the current administration that reaches Congress.
The submission law is one of the two initiatives of the security policy of the Abelardo De La Espriella government, the other being the anti-terrorist statute. The Executive has said that the proposal presented this Tuesday is the “carrot” and the draft statute would be the “stick”, it is expected to reach Congress between Thursday of this week and Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
The project presented by Iván Cancino will have a message of urgency, so it is expected that the First Committees of the Senate and Chamber will study it jointly in the coming days and will give it priority in their debate when it reaches the respective plenary sessions.
“The shelter bill, which has been presented by the two ministries, seeks to create a regulatory framework that allows people and structures to be subject to the law,” said Minister Rodrigo Lara, who highlighted that the proposal “goes with the spirit of this government. A very firm position of public order, but at the same time provides a regulatory framework for the shelter of criminal organizations in justice.”
In the presentation of the project, the Minister of the Interior was very clear that the initiative only seeks to provide a legal framework for submission to justice and in no way will these possible processes be given a political connotation.
The bill presented this Tuesday has a total of 22 articles and 17 pages. “The purpose of this law is to define state policy to provide the Colombian State with legal instruments for the restoration and maintenance of public order, the protection of the civil population, comprehensive territorial intervention and the dismantling of Illegal Armed Actors or Terrorists that affect the security, coexistence and rights of Colombians,” says the proposal, which makes it clear that it seeks to extend Law 418 of 1997 and establish some modifications to its articles. This same law was the one used for the ‘total peace’ policy, although with the respective modifications to adapt to Gustavo Petro’s failed peace policy.
The proposal establishes the legal route, whose maximum burdens remain in the hands of the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office. For this purpose, a specialized Unit is even created for the investigation and prosecution of armed actors who submit.
“The Attorney General’s Office will have a specialized Unit for the investigation and prosecution of Illegal Armed Actors or Terrorists who submit to the Constitution and the law, with sufficient and suitable technical and professional teams from the DIJIN and the Technical Investigation Corps,” reads the text presented to Congress.
The main benefits
The articles make it clear that submission will allow a reduction of up to 50 percent of the accumulated sentence. This depends on contributions to the dismantling of criminal organizations and contributions to truth and reparation. If the subject is a leader, the maximum reduction will be 30 percent.
The sentences could be served in “transitional settlement centers”, agricultural colonies and productive prisons. Conditional release will be applied from the completion of 4/5 of the sentence and will be granted with the endorsement of the victims. At this point, conditional release can be granted at the time of paying 2/5 of the sentence if there is collaboration to find missing persons, and “it effectively contributes to the truth and reparation to the victims and to the clarification of political links of the organization and lines of corruption that threaten public administration and the upright and effective administration of justice.”
It is also contemplated to suspend the execution of the sentences one year after they are imposed if the convicted persons are not ringleaders and only committed “the crimes of conspiracy to commit a simple and aggravated crime, illegal use of uniforms and insignia, illicit use of transmitting or receiving equipment and illegal carrying of firearms or ammunition for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces or for personal defense, and which contribute to the truth.” The same measure applies to those who are only convicted of money laundering, straw manship and illicit enrichment who deliver the assets resulting from illegal conduct.
The sentences against group leaders cannot be less than 10 years, the project says. On the other hand, measures to reduce the sentence are established. One day less penalty for every two days of work, as long as there is collaboration, and one day off for each day that participates in restorative programs, crop eradication and demining.
JUAN SEBASTIÁN LOMBO DELGADO
Political writing
