Can ‘Memo Fantasma,’ the Invisible Drug Lord, Outmaneuver Colombia’s Justice System?

Accused drug trafficker and former paramilitary leader Guillermo León Acevedo, alias "Memo Fantasma," has remained relatively unscathed throughout his prosecution in Colombia on money laundering and criminal conspiracy charges. A new set of judicial hearings starting tomorrow could further show whether Acevedo is likely to get the best of the country’s justice system.

InSight Crime unmasked Acevedo as Memo Fantasma in a six-part investigation published in 2020. At the time, Acevedo, who also goes by “Will the Ghost,” appeared to be nothing more than a Madrid-based businessman. He was, in fact, an??ex-drug lord ?and former high-ranking member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC ), then the world's largest paramilitary army and cocaine-trafficking group.

The demobilization of the AUC in 2006 marked the end of Acevedo’s drug trafficking career. As his paramilitary allies were extradited to the United States, Acevedo set about clearing his name and laundering drug money. His investments include the real estate development company Inversiones El Cipres SA, which created a trust with Hitos Urbanos Limitada, whose shareholders include Colombia’s?former -Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez.?

Colombia's Attorney General's Office reported Acevedo's assets to be worth nearly $18 million, but InSight Crime traced properties and investments valued at more than $30 million.?

If he is ultimately convicted, Acevedo could be sentenced to between?15 and 40 years ?in prison.?

But Acevedo is among a cadre of underworld figures known as “Invisibles ” because of their ability to use their connections with people of influence to stay out of legal trouble. Following his arrest in June 2021, Acevedo was given pretrial detention over concerns of witness-tampering and being a flight risk. However, he?won his release ?from pretrial detention on August 8, 2022.

The appeal process itself was?suspect : prosecutor Julio César Ochoa,?who took over halfway through, appeared uncommitted to keeping Acevedo in prison, telling the court that it was “a family tragedy that we see a man being detained along with his mother and grandmother.”

Following his release, sources close to Acevedo?told ?InSight Crime that trial witnesses were at risk of being threatened.

Read InSight Crime’s report revealing Memo Fantasma’s?true identity .

Stay up-to-date with news about?Memo Fantasma ?and other?organized crime figures ?at?insightcrime.org .