Jonathan, one of the two survivors of the United States military attack against an alleged narco-submarine in Caribbean waters on October 16, was discharged from Kennedy Hospital, in Bogotá, last Tuesday, the 28th of the same month.
The man left the medical facilities on his own and without judicial custody. This subject had been repatriated to Colombia in critical condition, with severe head trauma and ventilatory support.
“We received the Colombian detained in the underwater drug trafficking operation, we are glad that he is alive and will be processed according to the laws,” President Petro wrote at the time in his X account, when the survivor arrived in the country.
However, the judicial situation took another turn. Although the Attorney General’s Office maintains a preliminary investigation into the case, it will not open a formal investigation, due to the lack of evidence that directly links it to criminal activities in national territory.
Also read: Petro and the chaos algorithm: a presidency trapped in its own digital echo
According to sources from the Public Ministry, there is no evidentiary material or testimonies that relate it to crimes provided for in Colombian legislation.
The Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, had stated that the survivor would be investigated for drug trafficking. However, the fact that the vessel was destroyed in international waters complicates the attribution of crimes in Colombian jurisdiction.
The dominant hypothesis is that Jonathan would be a junior worker within the maritime operation, with no criminal record or obvious links to drug trafficking networks.
The military operation that destroyed the ship was ordered by the government of then-President Donald Trump and carried out by US forces on October 16. The boat was classified by Washington as part of a “narco-terrorist” group.
Of the four people on board, two died and two survived: Jonathan, repatriated to Colombia, and Andrés Fernando, who was transferred to Ecuador, where he was also released days later.
More news from Colombia