Who Is Sebastián Ortega, the Man Set to Be Charged Alongside Miguel Quintero in the Ecopetrol Case?

Sebastián de Dios Ortega Urán, a businessman who never held elected office, is expected to become one of the most closely watched figures in the Fiscalía’s case over alleged contract steering at the Aburrá Valley Metropolitan Area.

The Fiscalía General de la Nación is expected to charge Miguel Quintero Calle on Thursday, Sept. 10, and request a detention measure. Quintero, a former Medellín councilman and brother of former mayor Daniel Quintero, is accused of being a key figure in the alleged steering of lucrative AMVA contracts. Prosecutors say the scheme may have involved the illegal appropriation of more than 2 billion pesos.

Ortega is expected to be charged alongside Quintero and other people allegedly connected to the same network, including former officials of the metropolitan entity. His name stands out because he was not part of the administration, yet the case identifies him as potentially important. Federico Gutiérrez has also linked him to the Ecopetrol case.

Ortega is the son of William de Jesús Ortega Rojas, a longstanding political figure in Bello. His father served as a Bello councilman for 15 years, ran for mayor in 2019, represented Antioquia in the House of Representatives for Cambio Radical, and served five terms in the departmental assembly. He also built businesses in real estate and hotels.

Through his father, Ortega entered political circles and developed connections with figures in both politics and business. El Tiempo describes him as building influence in El Hueco, one of Medellín’s major and complex commercial areas. His proximity to power became more established during Daniel Quintero’s administration, when he grew close to Miguel Quintero Calle.

Ortega and Quintero were first linked around 2022. Ortega was later mentioned in the file concerning the Carabineros lot, a property of more than...