The widow and son of Pablo Escobar were accused of participating in the crime of money laundering using real estate investments such as alibis

A new chapter is written in the history of Pablo Escobar's family; however, on this occasion, the former capo is not the protagonist, but his widow, María Isabel Santos Caballero, and his son, Juan Sebastián Marroquín , in addition to former soccer player Mauricio "el chicho" Serna. They were processed without preventive custody, for laundering dollars from the sale of drugs, using real estate investments as alibis, according to judicial sources.

Leer en español: A la cárcel los herederos de Pablo Escobar

This decision was made by Pablo Barral, head of federal court 3 of Morón, who ruled that María Isabel Santos Caballero (57), Juan Sebastián Marroquín Santos (40) – widow and son of Pablo Escobar – and Mauricio Serna (50) were " necessary participants of the crime of money laundering aggravated because it is an association formed for the continued commission of acts of that nature ".

According to information from the website fiscales.gob.ar, the judge lobbied the assets of the three accused to cover the sum of 30 million Argentinean pesos each, and ordered the seizure of an apartment located in the Buenos Aires town of Vicente López, where Marroquín Santos lived with his family.

In this case, former members of the Medellín cartel are also involved, such as José Piedrahita Ceballos who is being held in Colombia, Mateo Corvo Dolcet, well-known Argentine businessman, María de los Ángeles Verta, María Gabriela Sánchez, Esteban Adrián Delrio, and Antonio Pedro Ruíz.

Read also: "Venezuela is a Mafia State": Jeremy McDermott, Executive Director of InShight Crime

This band was dismantled in September 2017, after 34 operations carried out in the Federal Capital and Greater Buenos Aires, plus others coordinated by the DEA in the United States and Colombia. Those involved must respond for an essential contribution in the laundering of $2,341,164 dollars and for a commission in co-responsibility for a laundering of $ 105,352 dollars.

The Escobar’s Curse

As was the case with the former head of the criminal organization, Pablo Escobar Gaviria, this band was dismantled by the interception of calls and documents involving the heirs of the capo, with the laundering of proceeds from drug trafficking.

On this occasion, Juan Pablo Escobar, who changed his name to Juan Sebastián Marroquín, along with his mother María Isabel Santos, were the ones who gave entrance to José Bayron Piedrahita to the Argentine financial system. In this way, they reopened the doors of the family to the criminal world, only this time, they did it from new lands.

It is important to point out that at first it was thought that the Escobar family had been pressured to help Piedrahita -who was one of her former enemies-. However, there is a document where the heirs of the capo agreed to receive a commission of 4.5% of the capital injection, for connecting the businessman Corvo Dolcet with Piedrahita.

You may be interested: Piñera wants Chile to remain an open country for immigrants

Another aspect that has been a fundamental factor in this case is that Piedrahita's relatives say that he is using his role as an informant, in order to erase his criminal past. However, neither he nor the Escobars can avoid the trial that awaits them in Argentina.

The Escobar could pay a penalty of up to 10 years in prison; however, what has taken the most significant value in this case is that apparently the inheritance left by the Colombian capo is still present in the new generation of the Escobar family.

Latin American Post | Julio Abella
Translated from “La maldición Escobar: A la cárcel los herederos del capo colombiano”