JEP orders Ecopetrol to deliver information on alleged links with paramilitaries

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has ordered the Ecopetrol company to deliver information about the alleged relationships between former officials and contractors of the company with paramilitary groups in Magdalena Medio. This decision is part of Case 08, which investigates crimes committed by public forces or State agents in association with paramilitaries or civilian third parties within the framework of the armed conflict.

Also read: Hamas thanks Petro’s decision on Colombia’s break with Israel

The JEP seeks to clarify the alleged collaboration between Ecopetrol and paramilitary groups in the region. To do this, it has asked the company to deliver a series of documents, among which are:

• Copies of agreements or contracts signed between Ecopetrol and the public force for the security of the Barrancabermeja refinery between 1988 and 2006.
• Balances of economic losses due to fuel theft between 1995 and 2005.
• Entry records to the Miramar Club and Guest House between January and May 1998.
• Information on helicopter flights serving Ecopetrol between 1997 and 2002.
• Copies of contracts signed between Ecopetrol and former security chiefs such as Antonio Sánchez Vargas, Marco Tulio Restrepo and José Eduardo González Sánchez.

The JEP considers that this information is necessary to “corroborate some of the statements presented by the appearing parties in their voluntary versions and in other procedural pieces.” Among these statements are the alleged holding of meetings between paramilitaries, members of the public force and Ecopetrol officials at the Miramar Club and the Guest House, as well as the use of company helicopters to transport illegal supplies for paramilitary groups. .

Ecopetrol has until May 25 to deliver the information required by the JEP.

Also: OECD: “Colombia in 2024 will have modest growth”

This news is of great importance for the peace process in Colombia, since it could shed light on the alleged participation of private companies in the armed conflict. It is expected that the information provided by Ecopetrol will contribute to the construction of a more complete and truthful account of what happened in Magdalena Medio during the bloodiest years of the conflict.