deceased Samuel Moreno Rojas spent his final years at the Police Carabineros Station in Bogotá.. He has been imprisoned there since October 2011 for joining the corruption network during his mayorship, and recruitment carouselbrother, Senator Ivan Morenopoliticians, officials, councilors and famous construction businessmen.
(I recommend reading: ‘Carousel’ recruiting: ten years after Bogotá’s big heist)
Located in the National Park to the east of the city, he was visited by his family, friends and even politicians at that place. But, as this newspaper learned, in recent years the former mayor of Bogotá (2008-2011) had been completely removed from politics and even “aged” and “decadent”, as President Gustavo Petro recently wrote.
Moreno Rojas had even disappeared from the radar of the capital’s media in 12 years after uncovering the city’s biggest corruption scandal and receiving three sentences from the justice system.
He was heard again on Thursday afternoon, February 9, when he was transferred to the emergency room of the Military Hospital without vital signs. He had fainted at the Police Station. According to a statement from this medical center, the former mayor suffered an acute myocardial infarction..
But he died of “cardiac arrest” at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, according to the hospital. At that time, the ex-president was accompanied by his family. Before his death, several voices of solidarity with his family were heard. One is that of President Petro, who replaced Moreno Rojas as mayor after he was elected at the ballot box in 2012.
“I am saddened by the death of Samuel Moreno. A life lost indeed. A lesson to the left about the paths a political alternative should never follow”The head of state wrote in a tweet.
Bogotá mayor Claudia López also said on her Twitter account: “I am saddened by the sudden death of former mayor Samuel Moreno. I offer my condolences and respect to his family and friends during this painful and difficult time. Especially to his wife, children and madam mother”.
Samuel Moreno was a presidential dolphin. He always thought that his destiny would be Casa de Nariño.. For this, he made a career in Congress for almost two decades and later as mayor of Bogotá, paradoxically the same position his mother “Captain” María Eugenia Rojas had fled when the popular election for mayors began in 1988. in Colombia.
The three sentences behind them for the conscription ‘carousel’ scandal – which would total around 70 years, but the current sentence would not reach 30 years – were the protagonists of Samuel Moreno and his younger brother, Iván, who were also convicted. Some of the most scandalous judicial proceedings in the country, first involving the Colombian jet set, and then the looting of public funds.
Descendants of former President Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, the only dictator in modern Colombian history (1953-1957), and children of his heir, María Eugenia, the Moreno brothers were raised as frontline heroes in Colombian politics.
Samuel was born in Miami in 1960. The dictator Rojas Pinilla took refuge there after he was forcibly overthrown in 1957, and his education and “world” bore the American stamp.
After a long decade, the family remained in the country after the return of General Rojas and the failed attempt to return to power in the troubled 1970 elections.
The palace-style family home in the Teusaquillo area was the Roja’s refuge after his return, and from there “la Capitana” began projecting for his children to restore power that never returned to his father.
Iván Moreno’s (2000-2003) mayor of Bucaramanga and Samuel’s mayorship of Bogotá (2008-2011) were an important part of this plan. Iván retained his brother’s votes to reach the Senate, and Samuel, supported by the Democratic Pole, replaced Lucho Garzón in the second most important popular election position in Colombia after President.
The road to Casa de Nariño came to a complete stop when the billionaire was discovered looting Bogotá’s finances by well-known white-collar criminals such as Samuel Moreno, his brothers Iván and Emilio Tapia and brothers Miguel and Manuel, and their cousin Guido Nule. .
More than a decade later, the courts imposed sentences, although much of what the Moreno stole from Bogotá was not recovered. Samuel received the highest scores for crimes such as embezzlement for aggravated allowance and aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime. His brother Iván is behind bars in La Picota prison in his actual years of imprisonment, awaiting the payment of several sentences that will exceed 30.
He was almost completely absent from politics and the connections his brother had maintained in La Picota (he was one of those mentioned during President Gustavo Petro’s brother’s visits to prisons to talk about ‘social forgiveness’ during the presidential campaign). He even chose not to insist too much on his demands for freedom, benefits enjoyed by some of his corrupt partners like Nule and Emilio Tapia.
“The closure was one of the most beautiful places in the city (Police Station), but it was still a prison,” one of his relatives said some time ago. This week, former mayor Samuel Moreno made headlines again when he finally arrived at the Military Hospital, where he died, without vital signs.
JHON TORRES
Medium Table Editor
WILLIAM REINOSO
Bogota Publisher
WEATHER EDITOR
Source: Exame
I am Bret Jackson, a professional journalist and author for Gadget Onus, where I specialize in writing about the gaming industry. With over 6 years of experience in my field, I have built up an extensive portfolio that ranges from reviews to interviews with top figures within the industry. My work has been featured on various news sites, providing readers with insightful analysis regarding the current state of gaming culture.
