“Colchado must be sanctioned,” was the slogan received by two members of the Police Disciplinary Court of the Ministry of the Interior, in charge of resolving the legal situation of PNP Colonel Harvey Colchado Huamaní, against whom a process was initiated for the publication of the image of a birthday cake whose decorative motif is supposedly the raid on President Dina Boluarte’s house. However, the officials chose to resign from their positions rather than give in to political pressure, according to La República sources with knowledge of the case.
On Tuesday, December 3 of this year, members Smila Zevallos Zevallos and Víctor Quinteros Marquina, members of the Second Chamber of the Police Disciplinary Court, surprisingly presented their letters of irrevocable resignation. The Minister of the Interior, Juan
Santiváñez accepted them and immediately named his replacements.
According to sources, a few days before the Second Chamber of the Disciplinary Court resolved the case of Colonel Colchado, the lawyer Smila Zevallos, who presided over the Chamber, received a call to the office of Minister Santiváñez to inform her about the progress of the case against the former head of the High Complexity Research Division (Diviac).
The head of the Interior portfolio told Zevallos that he had to sanction Colchado no matter what.
Neither Smila Zevallos nor Víctor Quinteros found responsibility against Colonel Harvey Colchado. Consequently, they were going to acquit him of the serious charges brought by the General Inspectorate of the National Police on behalf of the Government of President Dina Boluarte.
According to the General Inspectorate of the PNP, the former head of the Diviac committed “very serious” and “serious” infractions for having disclosed the photo of a cake that was given to him for his birthday and posted on his WhatsApp wall. The image simulated the raid on President Boluarte’s residence.
However, for tribunes Smila Zevallos and Víctor Quinteros, the publication of the cake was not an attack on the image of the PNP because Colonel Colchado did not commit any crime.
“It is not the same to publish a photo of a cake, with the action of a police officer who is a rapist or who collects a bribe, whose criminal conduct does damage the image of the National Police,” commented a lawyer from the Mininter Disciplinary Court.
An early retirement
As is public, Colonel Colchados became a target of the Government to retire him for renewal of cadres, in retaliation for his participation in the raid on the residence of President Dina Boluarte for the Rolex case, and for capturing his brother Nicanor Boluarte as part of the operation against ‘Los Waykis en la Sombra’.
The Second Chamber of the Police Disciplinary Court was made up of Smila Zevallos, as president, and members Víctor Quinteros and retired PNP colonel Jesús Julca Alcázar.
In his to accept orders contrary to their work.
After the resignation of Smila Zevallos and Víctor Quinteros, Minister Juan Santiváñez appointed lawyers Juan Merino Medina and Jesús Soller Rodríguez, who will decide the fate of Colonel Colchado and, therefore, his permanence in the PNP.
According to sources with knowledge of the case, the tribunes Zevallos and Quinteros had formed an opinion
of the case after listening to the oral report of Colonel Harvey Colchado, during a virtual hearing in which retired PNP Colonel Jesús Julca also participated. Everything indicated that the former head of Diviac had two votes in favor (Zevallos and Quinteros) and one against (Julca).
Aware of the meaning of the vote of the majority of the court, Minister Santiváñez began to impose on the members to review their position.
Calling from Córpac
“There was a lot of external pressure. It was not possible to guarantee independence to resolve the Colchado case,” the sources indicated.
Coincidentally, on December 3, the delivery of the retirement pass list for regular cadre renewal of the general officers and senior officers of Arms and Services for the year 2024 was scheduled to be delivered.
However, one day before, precisely on December 2, the general commander of the National Police, Lieutenant General Víctor Zanabria Angulo, decided to postpone the date to December 10.
At the last minute, the head of Human Resources, General Raúl Silva Olivera, and the chief of the PNP General Staff, General Óscar Arriola, believed that it was viable to modify the schedule for the retirement of general and superior officers.
By the way, the Qualification Council that evaluates and proposes retirement passes for renewal of general officer and senior officer cadres is chaired by General Víctor Zanabria, together with the Chief of the PNP General Staff, General Óscar Arriola Delgado, and the head of the Human Resources Directorate of the PNP, General Raúl Silva Olivera.
In accordance with the current directive, one of the reasons for moving to retirement due to renewal of cadres through a regular process in the hierarchies of general officers and senior officers of Arms and Services for the year 2024 is to have been rigorously sanctioned by the General Inspectorate. of the PNP or by the Police Disciplinary Court of the Ministry of the Interior.
In the hypothetical case that the new members of the Police Disciplinary Court rigorously sanction Colonel Harvey Colchado, he will automatically be retired due to renewal of staff at the end of the year.
Therefore, everything would indicate that the postponement of the delivery of the list of retirement passes from December 3 to 10 would have the purpose of allowing the new components of the Police Disciplinary Court to respond to the dictates of Minister Santiváñez (see separate note). have enough time to review the file of the case of Colonel Harvey Colchado Huamaní and issue their resolution in the sense that the Government intends.
This happens to Colonel Colchado for refusing the request of President Boluarte’s former lawyer, Mateo Castañeda, to help him in the Los Waykis en la Sombra case, which involves Nicanor Boluarte.
Exploded view
Santiváñez’s new chips
● The lawyers Juan Merino Medina and Jesús Soller Rodríguez, who replace the members Smila Zevallos and Víctor Quinteros, are trusted officials of Minister Juan Santiváñez.
● Therefore, according to the sources consulted, it is very likely that the new members will direct their votes in favor of applying sanctions to Colonel Harvey Colchado. With the vote of Jesús Julca Alcázar, there would be three votes.
● Both are members of other Chambers of the Police Disciplinary Court of the Ministry of the Interior.
● For example, Jesús Soller is part of the Board of Directors of the National Superintendency of Arms Control, Ammunition
Civil Use (Sucamec) and was appointed precisely by Santiváñez, with the approval of President Dina Boluarte.
● Curiously, Jesús Soller replaced Santiváñez on June 21 of this year when he was a member of the Board of Directors of
the Sucamec.
● With this background, it is possible to suspect the meaning that Jesús Soller’s vote will have.
● During conversations recorded by the former Diviac officer, Captain PNP Junior Izquierdo Yarlequé, with Juan José Santiváñez, the latter’s desire to remove Colonel Harvey Colchado Huamaní was recorded. Córpac’s office is somewhat evident.
