Although rescuers and authorities have not lost hope of finding life among the rubble, rescue efforts are reporting the discovery of bodies of people who were reported missing after the earthquake that shook Colombia on August 10.
One of them is criminal lawyer Juan José Salazar Cruz, 38 years old, whose lifeless body was found early Sunday morning in a building that collapsed in downtown Cali.
‘He was with his girlfriend’
Official reports known to EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit indicate that around 2:30 a.m., the lawyer and his partner were located: “The gentleman you are asking about was with his girlfriend, who also died.”
Videos obtained by this newspaper show the condition of the building where they were – El Ana Pilar – and a report from an employee of the firm Cadena & Asociados, showing the ruins in which the building they were in was left.
“Look at how the building where Dr. Juan Jo (sic) is located ended up. He doesn’t answer,” a close person is heard saying anxiously.
This newspaper also confirmed that it is the same lawyer mentioned in the case against former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez for alleged witness bribery, from which the former president was acquitted and is now under review by the Court.
Partner of Diego Cadena
Salazar Cruz was a partner of Diego Cadena’s firm, another of those investigated in the case.
According to close sources, he managed the office in Cali, where he lived with his young girlfriend, Valentina Marcano, of Venezuelan nationality.
Several people from the law office were assisting in the search efforts for Salazar and believed that he would be rescued alive this Sunday. In the area, they said voices were heard under the rubble.
But around 5 a.m., they confirmed that he is one of the bodies recovered lifeless. Even so, search efforts for life continue at this and eight other points in Cali.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltiempo.com
@UinvestigativaET
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