A group of Colombian police officers who believed in a promise from the institution to make them bilingual are now living in the United States with their families as illegal immigrants, despite having an official visa for studies. The Police pulled three solutions out of their sleeves when they found out regarding the budget cut, which included returning to Colombia, requesting a paid leave, or requesting vacations. However, every option offered by the Police to solve the problem included a trap; if they returned to Colombia and abandoned the course, they might be investigated for “patrimonial damage.” The option of anticipating vacations for almost a year has no legal support. More than 30 police officers took the first option, returned to Colombia, dropped out of the English course, and several of them resigned from the Police. Those who opted for paid leave or vacations face an ordeal to survive in the United States, as they are unable to fulfill their responsibilities. To save money, some huddled together with their families in cramped and overcrowded apartments. The warning they gave to the police officers who decided to stay in the United States had a tinge of threat. If they did not comply with the courses, they would be investigated for patrimonial detriment. The contracts were signed by the Police Schools Directorate, which at that time was under the command of the institution’s current deputy director, General Yackeline Navarro.
Overcrowded, without money, healthy, recycling, sweeping streets, walking dogs, begging and abandoned. This is how a group of Colombian police officers are in the United States who believed in a promise from the institution to make them bilingual. Despite having an official visa for studies, they live with their families as illegal immigrants.
The Police pulled three solutions out of their sleeves when they found out regarding the budget cut. SEMANA obtained several audio recordings with the details of the meetings between high-ranking police officers and uniformed officers in the United States. In these conversations they are told that they have three possibilities in the face of the “unforeseen”: return to Colombia, request a paid leave or request vacations.
Every possibility offered by the Police to solve the problem included a trap. If they returned to Colombia and abandoned the course, they might be investigated for “patrimonial damage.” This is what a colonel said in the meetings following noting that the courses were paid in full and the institution must guarantee that this money is used for the purpose of the study contracts.
“The tuition has already been paid, which means an obligation on your part to complete the academic program. Because? Because if the academic program is not completed in its entirety, then we are facing a detriment to the public patrimony and we are going to have problems”, said the colonel at the meeting that SEMANA met.
In the case of paid leave, as another alternative to staying in the United States, police officers receive the same salary they earn in Colombia. With the currency exchange, he leaves them regarding 400 dollars a month, an amount with which it is impossible to live in that country. And the problem is more serious if one takes into account that the uniformed officers made financial commitments, such as rental contracts and even education for their children, which exceed $2,000 per month.
The option of anticipating vacations for almost a year, offered in meetings with the uniformed officers, has no legal support. The Police even assured SEMANA that this offer is practically impossible, but from the Schools Directorate, as heard in the audios, they made it.
The remedy ended up worse than the disease. More than 30 police officers took the first option, returned to Colombia, dropped out of the English course, and several of them decided to avoid the alleged investigation and resigned from the Police. They found no other way out than voluntary withdrawal.
It turns out that the paid leave, including vacations, two proposals made by the Police to comply with the contracts, deviate from the immigration status that uniformed officers have in the United States. When they left on commission, they received an official visa, but the coverage of that visa expires at the end or suspension of the commission and go on leave or vacations. In other words, they would be in an illegal condition.
WEEK learned of documents signed by the Directorate of Special Services of the Police in which they specify, verbatim, what includes the commission of the uniformed officers. The same thing that, according to Police sources, the Ministry of Defense eliminated without regard to the condition in which the policemen were left.
Those who opted for paid leave or vacations face an ordeal to survive in the United States. Some police officers with their families take advantage of their free time to do activities that allow them to earn some money, enough to fulfill their responsibilities, which are more difficult in dollars.
“They are recycling, looking through the garbage, sweeping the sidewalks, parks, walking dogs, gardening. The situation is quite precarious and they stayed to avoid investigations for not complying with the course. They left them abandoned, when they promised them something else,” said a source from the same Police, who was even in the United States.
To save money, some huddled together with their families in cramped, overcrowded apartments. They share food and take turns bathing. The wives and children of the uniformed men gave up their jobs and studies in Colombia to take advantage of the experience offered by the Police, with all the guarantees.
“Many paid deposits of up to $6,000, now they cannot meet the rents. The children were enrolled in academic centers and there is not even money to return to Colombia, they are abandoned,” the source told SEMANA, who warns how, in an effort to comply with the study contracts, the Police sentenced their men.
The warning they gave to the police officers who decided to stay in the United States had a tinge of threat. If they did not comply with the courses, they would be investigated for patrimonial detriment. That, precisely, is the reason for not returning to the country. Police officers would rather beg than pay for a lawyer.
The resources for the support of the soldiers and their families were guaranteed by the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the then President Iván Duque, but with the entry of the new Government, according to the Police, the Ministry of Defense emptied the budget, with an argument that seems unusual: the winter wave. “It is the official notification, the decision does not depend on the Police and you know that there was a winter issue, a winter surge,” says the colonel, who warned the police regarding the risk of leaving the course.
The contracts were signed by the Police Schools Directorate, which at that time was under the command of the institution’s current deputy director, General Yackeline Navarro. The commissions included the payment of tickets for the uniformed officers and their families, another million-dollar investment, which in some cases was not used; hence they ask the Comptroller’s Office to make the inquiries.
Most of the soldiers who won the commission and who are now abandoned in the United States were part of Iván Duque’s protection scheme, in the presidency, a fact that caught the attention of those who spoke with SEMANA due to the smell of political revenge in the decision to cut resources.
In fact, it is difficult to give credence to the arguments of the Police and the Ministry of Defense regarding the reasons for suspending the appeals, Well, two colonels had their study commission extended and they alone receive more than 7,000 dollars a month in support, in addition to their salary as police officers.
The situation of the Colombian police officers left abandoned in the United States is truly heartbreaking. Despite having an official visa for studies, they were forced to live as illegal immigrants due to a budget cut and the lack of support from the police institution. The solutions offered by the police not only included traps but also pushed the officers into a more precarious situation. The fact that most of these officers were part of the protection scheme of former President Iván Duque only adds to the suspicion of political revenge. These officers and their families have been left to survive with limited resources, having to resort to menial jobs to make ends meet. It is a sad reminder of the consequences of broken promises and the disregard for the welfare of those who serve in uniform.
