Suspect Charged in Case of Colombian Engineer Missing for Over Four Years

A suspect linked to the criminal group El Mesa has been charged by Colombian prosecutors for his alleged involvement in the forced disappearance of forestry engineer Andrés Camilo Peláez. The engineer vanished over four years ago, on April 4, 2022, in the municipality of San Andrés de Cuerquia, Antioquia.

The accused, identified as Juan Fernando Tobón Correa, also known as "El Paisa," faces charges of forced disappearance from a prosecutor within the Specialized Directorate Against Human Rights Violations. Tobón Correa pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a judge has ordered him to remain in pretrial detention.

According to the investigation, "El Paisa" allegedly participated with other armed individuals in the abduction of Peláez. The engineer had left his hotel to have breakfast while performing environmental duties for the Hidroituango hydroelectric project. He was reportedly intercepted, threatened with firearms, beaten, and forced into a vehicle.

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The Fiscalía noted that Peláez was intercepted, intimidated with firearms, beaten, and forced to get into a vehicle.

Peláez was then taken to a house, tied up, and the following day transported to an area outside the municipality. His whereabouts have remained unknown since then. Tobón was apprehended by investigators in Bello, a municipality near Medellín, with support from the Military Gaula. The Fiscalía has noted that two other individuals have already been prosecuted for their alleged roles in this case.

The search for Andrés Camilo Peláez, who was 26 and working as a contractor for Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), has been spearheaded by his mother, Claudia María Yepes. Through the campaign #DóndeEstáCamilo, she has persistently sought answers, questioning the investigation's direction and demanding that the case not go unpunished.

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The search for Andrés Camilo Peláez... has been driven for years by his mother, Claudia María Yepes, through the #DóndeEstáCamilo campaign.