Pacho Malo: CTI Investigations, Capture, and Links to Criminal Networks

2024-02-22 15:23:00

CTI investigators captured Pacho Malo in the last few hours./ Reference photo.

Photo: Óscar Pérez

The CTI Technical Investigative Corps has just captured one of its former members who has recently been mentioned as a member of a criminal network. This is Francisco Javier Martínez, alias Pacho Malo, who would be behind a smuggling, and possibly drug trafficking, gang that operated in Cauca and Buenaventura.

Pacho Malo’s name came to light at the end of 2023, when it was learned that two CTI investigators discovered the alleged criminal links of the former CTI official in Cauca. So far, the Attorney General’s Office has not reported for what facts it will prosecute Martínez and it is expected that in the next few hours he will be presented before a judge to be charged.

At the beginning of February, when it was imminent that Martha Mancera was going to occupy the position of interim attorney general, Pacho Malo’s name appeared in the media once more. According to journalist Daniel Coronell, from the top of the Prosecutor’s Office there was a plan to protect Martínez and that he would have been close to Mancera.

For their part, the current prosecutor in charge, such as former Attorney General Francisco Barbosa, categorically denied the accusations made by Coronell. An article published by Cambio magazine revealed some audios that allegedly implicated the director of the CTI in Buenaventura, Francisco Javier Martínez Ardila, in matters of drug trafficking and arms trafficking.

However, the Prosecutor’s Office responded in a press release: “As a result of the investigative activity carried out once morest the aforementioned organization (Drug trafficking network that operates in Buenaventura), in two different phases of intervention carried out between 2021 and 2022, the capture and judicialization of 19 people. Given the forcefulness of the evidence obtained, 18 of these people accepted charges, 13 of them were convicted and once morest 5 there is a sense of conviction, waiting to hear the sentence. “A woman faces trial.”

They also added that specifically this criminal network has managed to seize 8 tons in approximately six different events, as well as carrying out asset forfeiture of 61 assets valued at 31,000 million pesos. Finally, they announced that due to complaints of possible corruption in the entity, they relocated the CTI coordinator in that section and an investigator.

In this case, the investigation carried out by a murdered CTI agent, Mario Fernando Herrera, once morest the very director of that institution in Buenaventura, Francisco Javier Martínez. According to the investigations carried out, the latter would be linked to the contamination of ships in the port that would carry cocaine to Europe and Central America.

Agent Herrera, whose death is attributed to FARC dissidents, in another undercover operation, prepared a report in March 2021 detailing the alleged actions of CTI director Francisco Javier Martínez. The investigation was of such caliber that Martínez was mentioned as alias “Pacho Malo” and would have links to drug traffickers in the area and corruption at the local level.

“’Pacho’ has total control in the port with the police and people who work within the port,” cited Raya Magazine, which accessed the report that also contains a criminal organization chart, of which “Pacho” is the central axis, among drug traffickers. as alias El Ingeniero, who was captured last year in Jamundí and accused of being a drug trafficker.

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According to the journalistic pieces, Agent Herrera’s co-workers, Fabio González and Pablo Bolaños, alerted Deputy Prosecutor Mancera regarding the findings. By then, the new prosecutor in charge had already been appointed by former prosecutor Francisco Barbosa as deputy attorney general (February 2020).

The investigations once morest “Pacho” not only seem to be frozen, but, on the contrary, the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation once morest both, following an anonymous complaint, for alleged theft of drugs seized from drug traffickers. Although Raya Magazine has raised the issue since last year, on January 26, the Attorney General’s Office issued a statement in which it announced the shelving of the investigation once morest Mancera herself, accused of omission in the serious investigations once morest “Pacho.”

To learn more regarding justice, security and human rights, visit the Judicial section of El Espectador.

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