Prosecutor and Police contradict each other over whereabouts of 'Papa Smurf' in Portugal
Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo claimed the Police informed her via WhatsApp that Diego Marín Buitrago had escaped in Portugal; the institution denies it and the smuggler himself says he remains in Porto.
Prosecutor and Police contradict each other over whereabouts of 'Papa Smurf' in Portugal
The heads of the Colombian Prosecutor's Office and Police are maintaining conflicting accounts regarding the whereabouts of Diego Marín Buitrago, alias "Papa Smurf", an alleged smuggling boss facing an extradition request from Portugal.
The dispute became public on Monday following Caracol Radio's publication of statements by Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo. According to the official, Police commander General William Rincón allegedly confirmed to her via text message that the defendant had absconded during the process for his return to Colombia. Camargo emphasised that she never requested the man's arrest and that she only received the information from the highest-ranking officer of the institution.
Days earlier, the Police had denied that version through a statement. There it asserted that neither the institution nor its director had provided the Prosecutor's Office with data indicating that Marín had escaped or left Portuguese territory.
The defendant has remained in Portugal since December 2024, when he was captured in an operation coordinated between the forces of Colombia, Spain and that European country. Months earlier, a court in Valencia had released him on the condition that he not leave Spain, but he crossed into the neighbouring nation, where he was re-arrested. A Portuguese court granted him provisional freedom whilst his extradition to Colombia is processed, a procedure that is advancing with delays.
National authorities attribute to "Papa Smurf" the leadership of a vast network dedicated to the illegal importation of Chinese products, allegedly in service of drug trafficking organisations and terrorist gangs. He is believed to have been engaged in that activity for two and a half decades. In March 2024 he evaded an operation against his structure in which alleged collaborators were detained including Ricardo Orozco Baeza ("the Blessed One"), retired colonel Alexánder Galeano Ardila and serving officer Mario Andrés Sarmiento. At that time it was reported that the group handled four-fifths of the maritime smuggling arriving in the country.
The matter took on a political dimension when it was revealed that Marín allegedly delivered 500 million pesos to Gustavo Petro's presidential campaign in 2022. The head of state asserted that he returned the funds, although no evidence has been presented.
Marín Buitrago himself responded to Caracol Radio that he has not left Portugal and that he does not intend to either. He is believed to be in Porto.
Information from El Colombiano.
Source: Google News CO — Crime