Cúcuta Court denies injunction for ex-Petro official investigated over ELN links
The Superior Court of Cúcuta rejected on second instance the injunction filed by Fredy Quintero Mogollón, former sub-director of the Unit for Victims, who sought to return to his position.
Court denies reinstatement of ex-sub-director of Unit for Victims investigated for ties with ELN
The Superior Court of Cúcuta denied on second instance the injunction action filed by Fredy Orlando Quintero Mogollón, former deputy general director of the Unit for Victims during the government of Gustavo Petro, who sought to reverse his termination from the position. According to infobae.com, citing El País América, the ruling definitively ruled out his return to the entity.
Quintero Mogollón had been declared redundant on 16 July 2026. In his injunction, the former official argued an alleged violation of his right to reinforced job stability, a guarantee that protects workers in vulnerable circumstances against dismissal without just cause. He also argued that he was the sole economic provider and caregiver for his daughter, whose disability status, according to his argument, granted him special employment protection and access to a pension for parents of persons with disabilities without an age requirement.
The former sub-director also contended that he had 1,153 weeks of contributions, which would place him in the status of pre-pensioner—a category applicable to those within three years or less of meeting the requirements for an old-age pension—and that he was under medical incapacity at the time of his termination, which is why he refused to present a voluntary resignation.
Response from the Unit for Victims
The entity challenged Quintero's arguments point by point. Regarding the protection afforded by his daughter's disability, the Unit stated that "Arixa Milena Villamizar González, mother of the minor, has the economic capacity to support the family burden". As for pre-pensioner status, the entity reported only 1,051 weeks of contributions, a figure that excluded him from that category. The entity also noted that Quintero remained incapacitated even on 10 August, the date on which he filed the injunction.
In the first-instance decision issued on 10 August, the court did not order reinstatement but asked the entity to evaluate whether the former sub-director was protected by the special protection for those close to pension eligibility. The judge in Cúcuta also ordered provisional suspension of the effects of the redundancy declaration whilst the constitutional action was resolved. The Superior Court, on second instance, annulled that suspension and closed the judicial path for his return.
At-will appointment position and ongoing criminal proceedings
Quintero held a position of at-will appointment and removal, a type of public employment associated with management or confidential functions, in which the administration may designate and remove its officials at discretion. Since his appointment, the former official had drawn questions regarding criminal proceedings against him before the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Statements from the case file link him to his time as Mayor of Chitagá, North of Santander, where, according to a Fiscal investigation cited by magazine Semana, he allegedly managed and diverted public resources to finance the Efraín Pabón front of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
"The evidentiary material shows that the former mayor allegedly financed that armed group during the period in which he held office (2016-2019) and, supposedly, sponsored the commission of criminal acts, such as collection of extortions, kidnappings and attacks against the Public Force, the civilian population and infrastructure in Pamplona, Toledo, Labateca, Chitagá and Silos (North of Santander), and various municipalities in the departments of Santander, Arauca and Boyacá," the Public Prosecutor's Office stated.
Although the case file was at trial stage, Quintero came to hold the second-highest position within the Unit for Victims. The former mayor maintained that his presumption of innocence allowed him to "answer the call" to serve as a director of the entity, and that the proceedings could not prevent his "civil and political rights and duties".
Three weeks of dispute and new appointment
Quintero's time in office extended even after the departure of Adith Romero, the director who brought him into the Unit. He refused to resign until he was declared redundant, before the change of government and the arrival of a president with a different vision on the armed conflict and assistance to victims.
The dispute delayed by three weeks the taking of office of a new holder of the deputy general directorship. Iliana Margarita Garzón Saladén, close to the Democratic Centre party, assumed the position on 7 September, when Quintero's litigation had just concluded in the courts.
Source: Google News CO — Crime