Former mayor 'Jhon Calzones' killed in Yopal; reward of up to $80 million
Jhon Jairo Torres Torres, former mayor of Yopal, was shot in a rural area of Casanare and died on 29 September. Authorities are offering up to $80 million for information about those responsible.
Former Yopal mayor shot dead in Casanare; 17-year-old minor arrested
Jhon Jairo Torres Torres, former mayor of Yopal known as "Jhon Calzones", was shot three times in a rural area of the Casanare capital and died on Tuesday 29 September at 12:23 p.m. at the Regional Hospital of Orinoquía, according to confirmation from the governor of Casanare, César Augusto Ortiz Zorro. Infobae.com reported details of the operation that followed the attack and the active investigation lines.
Following the homicide, the Public Order Committee of Casanare set a reward of up to $50 million for information leading to the capture and prosecution of those responsible. The Municipality of Yopal added a further $30 million, bringing the total amount to $80 million.
The attack and immediate arrest
Initial reports indicate that Torres was attacked by two men who arrived on a motorcycle. One of them got off the vehicle under the pretext of buying meat and then pulled out a revolver and fired. The former official received impacts to the chest, abdomen and left arm.
The subsequent operation led to the arrest of a 17-year-old adolescent from Armenia, Quindío, preliminarily identified as having participated in the crime. The second man managed to flee and remains being sought by authorities.
The government secretary of Casanare confirmed the version in a public statement: "Once these unfortunate events occurred, our public force, headed by our National Police, our Air Force, the Army, in a union and in joint work, we also managed to capture one of the murderers. This young man is at the disposal of the authorities. A revolver was also seized and the motorcycle in which these criminals were travelling was seized."
The official also noted that Torres had his own protection scheme, not assigned by the State.
Evidence and investigation lines
Investigators are analysing records from Yopal's Integrated Intelligent Emergency and Security System (SIIES), which include video surveillance and licence plate recognition. The government secretary indicated that with those means the authorities are seeking to "establish who the perpetrators are, but also the intellectual authors of this act".
A central element of the investigation is the motorcycle used in the attack, which was registered in the name of Bernabé Jiménez, a resident of Paz de Ariporo, who was murdered on 28 September, one day before Torres's homicide. The Sijín of Casanare is carrying out an information crosscheck to determine whether the murder of Jiménez, the theft of the motorcycle and the attack against the former mayor are related.
Other investigative lines are examining whether the attack could be linked to a person held in Cómbita prison. According to sources close to the case cited by infobae.com, possible disputes related to assets that may have belonged to individuals involved in drug trafficking are also being reviewed. Authorities are also gathering information about land dealings and lot sales related to illegal urbanisation projects in which Torres may have been involved, as well as his recent movements in political circles. The motive for the homicide has not been officially established.
Profile of the former mayor
Jhon Jairo Torres Torres was 49 years old and began his career in the commercial and property sectors before entering politics. The nickname "Jhon Calzones" came from a women's underwear business he ran in his early days.
One of the projects that marked his trajectory was the Ciudadela La Bendición, an urbanisation created in 2014 on a plot of 140 hectares in Yopal, through which he marketed approximately 10,000 lots aimed primarily at low-income families. The Public Prosecutor's Office later prosecuted him after determining that the property had been seized from individuals linked to drug trafficking and that the lots had been sold without the corresponding construction, environmental and public services licences.
Torres pushed his candidacy for the Municipality of Yopal from La Modelo prison in Bogotá and won the October 2015 elections with more than 24,000 votes. After obtaining conditional release, he took office in 2016, but the Supreme Court upheld his criminal conviction and he was dismissed. Additionally, he was mentioned in investigations for alleged illicit enrichment and money laundering related to the marketing of property, part of which became linked to asset forfeiture proceedings.
Ongoing search
As the investigation advances, authorities maintain the search for the second man who participated in the attack and work to establish who ordered the homicide and what were the circumstances that led to its execution. The arrested minor remains at the disposal of the competent authorities.
Source: Google News CO — Crime