Four people convicted of using health money for political campaign in La Guajira

A criminal judge of the Riohacha circuit convicted four people in La Guajira for the crime of embezzlement for appropriation in favor of a third party. The case has to do with an act of corruption that was investigated by the Attorney General's Office in the department, where they would have used the money destined to attend a health program in a political campaign.

The act of corruption would take place in 2011, following the conclusion of a contract between the Albanian Mayor's Office, in La Guajira, and the San Rafaeal Hospital. The 18.9 billion pesos agreement sought to develop a health program to prevent mortality among children and pregnant mothers.

The Prosecutor's Office explained that “the health center did not have the technical or operational capacity to comply with contractual obligations.” For that reason, they found that 10 professionals from different areas were subcontracted to give the appearance of developing the health project.

“These people dedicated themselves to linking 1,459 citizens through front contracts to carry out consultations, treatments and assessments, as well as field visits to communities affected by lack of food, water and medicines,” the statement delivered by the Prosecutor's Office reads.

The evidence collected by the investigating body showed that the beneficiaries of the multiple contracts had to meet three requirements: to have their citizenship card registered in order to vote in Albania, to be followers of the current candidate for the governorate and to accept a lower payment than established in the orders for the provision of services.

The Prosecutor's inquiry found that “most people did not perform any activity, but they collected their fees through checks”. In addition, the monies were exchanged for cash and, later, kept in garbage bags and handed over to the campaign of the then candidate for the Government of La Guajira.

The facts were accepted through pre-agreements with the research body by four professionals who served as intermediaries to divert public resources from the health of La Guajira. For that reason, a criminal judge of the circuit found them responsible for the above-mentioned crime. Those sentenced are:

- Glenis Josefina Ojeda Rivadeneira, who signed six contracts for the lactation subprogramme worth 1,130 million pesos and hired 133 people.

- Emel Antonio Rodríguez Amaya, appointed to hire 672 people for the mental health subprogramme worth more than 1.23 billion pesos.

- Mayerlis Soto Carrillo, involved in the conclusion of six contracts with the Albanian Hospital for 1,269 million pesos. In turn, it outsourced 244 citizens.

- Yira Patricia Montaño Manjarrez, who hired 244 people and collected 1,203 million pesos.

The Prosecutor's Office noted that the professionals received sentences of four years in prison, with the exception of Glenis Josefina Ojeda Rivadeneira, who was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.

It should be recalled that this fact of corruption affects the social situation of the department. A 2022 report by the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), notes that “Colombia's indigenous peoples suffer from disproportionate levels of poverty that prevent them from exercising their social and economic rights. In 2021, at least 32 boys and girls under the age of five — mostly from Wayuus indigenous communities — died in the department of La Guajira.”

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