The influencer Aida Victoria Merlano, daughter of former Colombian senator Aida Merlano who is detained in Venezuela, was sentenced this Tuesday for having helped her mother escape from prison in 2019.
A criminal judge of the Bogotá Circuit issued a conviction against the influencer for the crimes of favoring escape and use of minors to commit crimes.
The court set for September 13 the hearing in which the time that Aida Victoria Merlano will have to remain in prison will be announced.
Likewise, the judge acquitted the dentist Javier Guillermo Cely Barajas, who was treating the former congresswoman at the time of the escape.
For this case, the former captain of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec) David Alexander Álvarez Cárdenas was already sentenced to 15 years in prison, who was found guilty of the crimes of favoring escape and malfeasance by action.
Merlano’s escape
The case, worthy of a soap opera, dates back to March 11, 2018 when Merlano, then a candidate for the Senate, was arrested in Barranquilla for electoral crimes, after which she was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Supreme Court of Justice for buying votes. for your choice.
However, Merlano, who does not shy away from controversy, initially attributed the arrest to his political ascension, since being of humble origin made the upper class of Barranquilla uncomfortable, in particular the Char and Gerlein families.
After her arrest and conviction, Merlano starred in a cinematographic escape on October 1, 2019, taking advantage of the fact that El Buen Pastor prison had taken her to a dental appointment in a private office in Bogotá, from where she escaped by going out the window and hanging down three floors. by a rope, until she reached the street where a motorcycle was waiting for her and took her out of the scene.
She was heard from again on January 27, 2020 when she was arrested in Maracaibo (Venezuela), a country she entered with false documentation.
Twelve days later, when appearing before a court in Caracas, she declared herself politically persecuted in Colombia and assured that she had to flee to that country because her life was in danger for everything she knows. EFE