Former President of the Senate, Arturo Char, must appear before the Supreme Court for alleged vote buying in the Atlantic

Next Friday, March 25, Senator Arturo Char must go to the Supreme Court of Justice to give an account of the alleged buying of votes that muddies his family, and which was denounced by the fugitive former congressman, Aida Merlano.

The former president of the Senate of the Republic will meet the questioned Senator Laureano Acuña, who was also summoned by the high court this Friday at 9:00 a.m. to explain the alleged electoral corruption in the department of Atlántico.

According to what the Supreme Court reported, Char and 'the flying cat', as Acuña is known, must explain whether they had any involvement in the merlanopolitics case, in which several coastal politicians would have benefited in their campaigns to the Senate, the House and other corporations.

These summons come after Aida Merlano revealed in mid-February this year that the Char, Gerlein families, among others, had bought votes to help in their campaigns, as well as that of other political actors in the country, which sparked a scandal in public opinion in the middle of the election campaign.

In fact, Merlano's controversial statements recognize political figures in the country such as President Iván Duque, former Presidents Juan Manuel Santos and Álvaro Uribe, as well as former Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez, as well as brothers Arturo and Alejandro Char, who burned themselves in past interparty consultations March 13th.

Directly, Merlano pointed to Senator Arturo Char (Radical Change Party), who is also the brother of the former mayor of Barranquilla and former presidential candidate for the Team for Colombia, cited above. He also mentioned Julio Gerlein and also Senators José David Name (Party of the U) and Laureano Acuña (Conservative Party), among others who, according to the former congressman, would form a corruption network known as “the White House”.

According to the conviction of the Supreme Court, an organized criminal enterprise that had technology to track the votes purchased and verify that they actually reached the polls operated in the 'White House'. In addition, wholesale ballot packages were sold to other candidates who purchased their services.

On the other hand, Merlano reiterated that there were irregularities in the search of her campaign headquarters, when she was arrested. In addition, she noted that they would have made a montage to make her look like the leader of a vote-buying organization.

Merlano denounced that a lawyer for the Char brothers had sought her so that she would not testify against them. He even assured that his life and that of his family are in danger because he does not access the pressures of the clans that he is today accusing of electoral corruption.

In the face of such serious allegations as those made by Merlano, the Supreme Court demanded that he hand over evidence to support his complaints. The former congresswoman agreed to deliver material that would compromise coastal politicians and, in addition, warned that in future proceedings “she will give information especially about two companies that would be the front for the purchase of votes on the coast.”

Throughout this process Merlano is being accompanied by Miguel Ángel Del Río, a lawyer who abandoned his political aspirations with the Historical Pact.

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