He had to serve a five-year prison sentence for the crime of treasury fraud. However, in the last few hours, he fled the country.
This is the former mayor of Antofagasta Karen Rojo, who boarded a flight to an unknown destination. This following yesterday, the Supreme Court dismissed the last resource with which the former community chief sought to avoid jail for an investigation in which the former secretary of the Municipal Corporation, Edgardo Vergara, was also convicted.
On January of last year, the Oral Criminal Court of Antofagasta sentenced a Rojo 5 years and one day in prison, plus lifelong disqualification for political rights, for crimes that took place in the Municipal Corporation for Social Development of the commune between October 1, 2015 and August 1, 2016.
According to the investigation by the Antofagasta Prosecutor’s Office, the mayor hired the services of José Miguel Izquierdo, from the Main Communications agency, for personal purposes, despite the fact that the fees were paid with municipal resources. Between 2012 and 2020, the highest authority in Antofagasta used tax money for advice of almost $24 million for his re-election ahead of the 2016 elections. The money came from school grant funds and municipal health resources.
According to the Investigative Police, Rojo left the national territory yesterday through the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport. “At the time of carrying out the immigration control in the International Police of the PDI, he did not present any legal impediment to leaving the country.” This is because he did not have an arrest warrant, which was previously revoked by the Court of Appeals.
