Audios of Óscar Iván Zuluaga splash Alexander Vega, current registrar

This Saturday, the magazine ‘Semana’ revealed two audio recordings of conversations between Oscar Ivan Zuluaga and Daniel Garcia Arizabaleta about the alleged entry of money from odebrecht to the 2014 campaign. The recordings, as Darcy Quinn had already anticipated on La FMwere contributed by Garcia Arizabaletawho has become a star witness in the case after reaching a preliminary agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office.

In context: Óscar Iván Zuluaga would have agreed to receive money from Odebrecht

The audios, presumably, show that zuluaga was aware of the inflow of money from odebrecht and that he had even tried to keep the scandal from splashing his son, David Zuluaga Martinezwho was part of the campaign. Oscar Ivan Zuluagait should be remembered, would be charged by the Prosecutor’s Office, as it was well known on June 13.

Alexander Vega, mentioned in the audios of Óscar Iván Zuluaga

And there is another part of the audios that has caused a stir: the mention of Alexander Vega Rocha, current registrar. According to what is heard, Óscar Iván Zuluaga told García Arizabaleta that Vega Rocha looked for him when the Odebrecht scandal broke out.

In context: Odebrecht case: Prosecutor’s Office will not request an insurance measure against Óscar Iván Zuluaga

“I was in the CNE [Consejo Nacional Electoral] and I spoke with Álex Vega. He searched for me. What did he tell me? ‘Man, look, I think that this must be drawn up here, because if not, this will create an institutional crisis for the country, not even a riot.’ That he is talking to the prosecutor (Néstor Humberto Martínez) so that he does not continue insisting on that. Like who says, listen, what happens is that on Roberto Prieto’s side that is very tangled, with everything they have been taking out, “says Zuluaga.

“Álex Vega is of the thesis that nothing happens (…) Tablas means that they are not going to ask the Prosecutor’s Office to verify copies of anything to anyone,” answers García Arizabaleta, according to the audios revealed by ‘Semana’

Alexander Vega Rocha is the national registrar since December 6, 2019. Before holding that position, Vega Rocha was a magistrate of the National Electoral Council (CNE) between 2014 and 2018.

Vega was also president of the CNE, between 2016 and 2018, and during that time that corporation archived two processes that were being carried out in the case of odebrecht. First, in October 2017, the investigation into the presidential campaign of Oscar Ivan Zuluaga about the alleged payment to the publicist Doubt Mendonça by the Brazilian multinational.

Second, in August 2018, the CNE decided to declare the expiration of the process against members of the Juan Manuel Santos campaign in 2014. In this sense, the magistrates at that time rejected the paper that asked to sanction the campaign, taking into account that its former manager, Roberto Prieto, had already recognized the inflow of money from odebrecht.