Time is running out for the Portuguese government to resolve in the second instance the asylum request presented by the so-called ‘smuggling czar‘, Diego Marín Buitrago, his defense has moved to open other avenues in case the appeal is denied.
READ ALSO
EL TIEMPO learned, from sources close to the process, that the decision of the Integration and Migration Agency should be notified, at the latest, in the second week of November. Marín’s legal team is betting that the authorities will be convinced of his supposed serious risk to physical integrity, “including the possibility of murder due to the circumstances of the case.”
Document that certifies the freedom of Diego Marín, alias Papa Smurf in Portugal. Photo:Courtesy
Likewise, of the alleged “political persecution of the Colombian Government and its undue interference in justice” to pressure his extradition to Colombia, a requirement that has already been approved by the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice, but whose effects are suspended until the asylum request is resolved, an unavoidable step before authorizing their repatriation.
Currently, Marín Buitrago is free in Portugal. The Supreme Court of that country approved an appeal for you have a body who argued an unjustified detention, given that the maximum period for arrests for extradition purposes – 20 days – had already expired.
Taking advantage of judicial guarantees has been one of the strategies of the one also called by the alias of Papa Smurf. In 2024, Spain granted him freedom while his extradition was being resolved, which he took advantage of to cross the border with Portugal, where he was recaptured in December of last year, by a red Interpol notice.
A Spanish court endorsed the extradition of Diego Marín, alias ‘Papá Smurf’ Photo:Private file
However, in a communication close to EL TIEMPO, ‘the tsar’ assured that he is appearing, through his defense, to all the requirements of the Colombian justice system, which is prosecuting him for conspiracy to commit a crime and bribery for giving or offering.
Martín is accused of being the ‘brain’ of a powerful smuggling network infiltrated in the main ports of the country, with which he managed to have Polfa and Customs agents on the payroll to facilitate the entry of undocumented merchandise.
The US Gate
This newspaper also learned that the team of lawyers inquired before agencies of the United States Department of State about the possible existence of a indictment that, if asylum is denied, It would allow him to land in the North American justice system to collaborate in exchange for criminal benefits and the eventual legalization of part of his fortune.
However, so far, they assure that no firm accusation is known, beyond the mentions in the file of the “most corrupt agent” of the Anti-Drug Agency (DEA), the Puerto Rican José Irizarry, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for money laundering and corruption. The US justice investigation places him close to ‘Pitufo’, after his stay in Cartagena – where one of the most important ports in the country is located – between 2011 and 2017.
“Irizarry betrayed his oath to serve and instead used his position to further the criminal activities of a violent drug cartel while enriching himself,” case agent Brian Payne, assigned to the IRS Criminal Investigations Division, said in 2021 (Internal Revenue Service).
READ ALSO
According to a report by the AP agency, in the dossier against Irizarry, Pitufo is mentioned as “a long-time American informant known by investigators as the ‘king of smuggling’ of Colombia for allegedly laundering drug money through household appliances and other imported goods.”
Despite not knowing any accusations against ‘Smurf’, it is not ruled out that, if he is denied asylum, he may seek to go to the United States with the promise of delivering privileged information on smuggling bosses who operate from that country. Nor is it ruled out that he chooses to continue defending himself against the trial in Colombia, in which he has declared himself innocent.
Gaza residents return Photo:
Sara Valentina Quevedo Delgado
Justice Editorial
