The Colombian Prosecutor’s Office ordered the suspension of the representative to the House on Monday by the Farc Seuxis Paucias Hernández Solarte, alias Jesús Santrich, after he announced in a video his decision to retake his arms.
«It is unacceptable that a fugitive like Mr. Santrich, who flaunts his repeated mockery of the victims, society and the peace agreement, can hold the title of congressman, provided for in the Constitution as representative of the people,» he said in a statement the head of the Colombian Public Ministry, Fernando Carrillo Flórez.
On August 29, the number two of the Farc, Luciano Marín Arango, aka Iván Márquez, published a video in which he announced «that the second Marquetalia (birthplace of the Farc more than half a century ago) has begun under the protection of the universal right that assists all the peoples of the world to rise in arms against oppression, ”said EFE.
Among those who accompanied Márquez in the video was Santrich and Hernán Darío Velásquez, aka El Paisa, who stopped fulfilling their commitments to the Special Justice for Peace (JEP) months ago.
Consequently, the Attorney General’s Office, in a communication addressed to the president of the House of Representatives, Carlos Cuenca, requested «the immediate fulfillment of the Hernández Solarte suspension for three months, which also implies the suspension of the payment of his salary as a congressman.»
Also, the Public Prosecutor initiated the process before the Council of State so that the loss of the investiture of Santrich is decreed taking into account its absence to six plenary sessions, in which bills and legislative acts were discussed and approved.
Taking into account that the location of Hernández Solarte is unknown, the State Council was requested to designate the appointment of an ex officio lawyer so that in the process of the process the right to defense and due speed is guaranteed.
Finally, the Office of the Prosecutor designated a special agency to intervene in the new process carried out by the Instruction Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice against Santrich for concerted crimes to commit crimes, illegal carrying of weapons and illegal use of uniforms and badges.
Jesús Santrich, a member of the FARC General Staff and one of the leaders of the Caribbean Bloc, was part of the guerrilla negotiating team in the peace talks with the Colombian Government in Havana.
On June 29, he abandoned his escorts while visiting the Territorial Training and Reincorporation Space (ETCR) of Tierra Grata, in the department of Cesar (north).
Santrich’s judicial mess dates back to April 9, 2018 when he was arrested in Bogotá accused of drug trafficking by the United States justice who requested him in extradition.
Last May the JEP, responsible for judging the crimes committed during the armed conflict in Colombia, granted Santrich the guarantee of non-extradition on the grounds that the evidence provided by the US They were insufficient.
Then, the JEP ordered the Prosecutor to release him after 416 days in prison, which allowed him to take a seat on June 11 for the Common Revolutionary Alternative Force (FARC) party in the House of Representatives.
