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Prisión de máxima seguridad entre montañas andinas con un vehículo de traslado judicial en la entrada
Imagen alusiva generada: establecimiento penitenciario de máxima seguridad en un paisaje andino.

Daniel Quintero Rejects His Brother's Transfer to Combita

A judge revoked Miguel Quintero's house arrest and ordered his transfer to the Combita prison.

--- The context --- Former Medellin mayor Daniel Quintero defended his brother Miguel Quintero after a judge revoked his house arrest and ordered his transfer to the maximum-security prison of Combita, in Boyaca, amid an investigation into alleged irregularities in public contracts. --- The facts --- Miguel Quintero is under investigation for alleged irregularities in six contracts signed between the Metropolitan Area of the Aburra Valley and the Itagui Volunteer Fire Department during 2020 and 2021. The revocation changes his detention conditions while the case moves forward, without any conviction against him so far. According to the authorities' investigation, the agreements allegedly involved cost overruns above $1.212 millones and payments lacking sufficient support for another $1.268 millones. The alleged patrimonial damage exceeds $2.481 millones, figures that must still be proven or dismissed during the judicial proceedings, with all the guarantees of due process. --- The positions --- Daniel Quintero argued that his brother is being treated as a criminal without having been convicted and described the Government as openly authoritarian and fascist, referring to the government of Abelardo de la Espriella, whose handling of the procedure he questioned. He also said the transfer to Boyaca separates his brother from his six-year-old daughter, who remains in Medellin, and linked the decision to alleged political persecution against him. Mayor Federico Gutierrez reacted on social media with a brief celebratory message, which Quintero answered with reproaches and accusations of persecution against his family. --- What remains unknown --- The full grounds that led the judge to revoke the house arrest have not been made public, nor has the calendar of the next hearings. It is also unclear how long Miguel Quintero will remain in Combita or whether his defense will ask for the measure to be reviewed. --- Unanswered questions --- What concrete grounds supported the revocation of the house arrest? Will Miguel Quintero's defense ask for the transfer to Combita to be reviewed? How will judicial authorities respond to the public questioning raised by his brother? --- EPM analysis --- The case shows the tension between a judicial decision adopted within a contract investigation and its immediate political reading in Medellin. Keeping both levels separate is essential: the investigation must advance with evidence and adversarial testing, and public debate should not replace the examination that belongs to judges at each procedural stage. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, a transfer ordered by a judge must be assessed under strictly legal criteria, because the presumption of innocence protects any person under investigation until a firm and duly reasoned conviction exists. The seriousness of the alleged cost overruns demands a rigorous and transparent investigation, without shortcuts or early convictions on social media. At the same time, political reactions from every sector should respect judicial independence and due process, so that the truth about the contracts is established in hearings and not in an exchange of public accusations.
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