The Criminal Appeals Court of the specialized jurisdiction for Economic Crimes and Organized Crime, Second Chamber, confirmed on Monday (18) the denial of the reconsideration motion filed by former senator Erico Galeano, sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering and criminal association. The decision allows the Sentencing Court to set a new date for the hearing to review precautionary measures and decide whether to order the preventive detention of the former lawmaker.
Galeano, a member of the Colorado Party, sought through the motion to challenge the scheduling of the hearing. The defense, led by lawyer Balbina Almada, argued that both the Sentencing Court and the Appeals Court had already determined that, upon leaving the Senate, Galeano should serve house arrest. “We believe the scheduling is not appropriate because both the Sentencing Court in its sentencing resolution and the Appeals Court have already stipulated which measure should prevail with the change in Erico Galeano's legislative status,” Almada said.
The Public Prosecutor's Office requested the arrest of the former legislator immediately after his resignation from the Upper House last Tuesday. Galeano, in turn, described his trial as “legal and political lynching” and said he had no guarantees. “It has not been categorically demonstrated that I was linked to drug trafficking money or that I provided cover to these people with my planes. I never gave orders to take these people in my small plane,” he stated.