The lawyer also denied the claim that no one has been convicted in the Odebrecht case, and argued that in Brazil the process was annulled, and today the country's president is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was convicted in that case.
Attorney Carlos Carrillo, part of the defense team for former President Ricardo Martinelli in the Odebrecht case, criticized the judicial system for attempting to criminalize political donations, despite the absence of a norm prohibiting them.
He indicated that the order to trial mentions that at least four people are identified as being linked to political donations from 2009. He also added that this hearing started complicated due to the number of people linked to the investigation.
Regarding the development of the trial, Carrillo reiterated that on January 21, 2025, the hearing was suspended to allow the right to a defense. However, when the hearing began on January 12 of last year, Judge Baloisa Marquínez unexpectedly changed her jurisprudence and decided to evaluate the witnesses from Brazil.
He also pointed out that the judge of the case is serving pro bono, pursuant to an agreement by the plenary session of the Supreme Court of Justice. This measure, he said, seeks to respond to the citizenry, however, he criticized it because there is no judge who was appointed before the events.
Carrillo questioned the seriousness of an accusation that links political donations to a money laundering case.
The lawyer explained that Martinelli is participating in the hearing to comply with international treaties and conventions, since, as a political asylum seeker, he was notified by Colombian authorities and attended to said notification.
According to Carrillo, the destination of the donations received by Martinelli in the 2009 political campaign is duly substantiated in declarations.
«To this day, we have not been presented with a specific census of how many convictions already exist in this case file, what the sentences are, and what the responsibilities are,» stated Carrillo on the program 'Open Debate'.
It should be noted that the trial in the Odebrecht case will resume on Wednesday, January 21, at 8:30 a.m., for the parties to review a new block of documentation incorporated into the case file.
