InSight Crime has begun its second series dedicated to Memo Fantasma. We do this just as he looks set to walk out of prison.


** The Criminal Career of Memo Fantasma Revealed
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In March 2020, InSight Crime published its most-read investigation ([link removed]) ever - “The Invisible Drug Lord: Hunting the Ghost” – revealing that Memo Fantasma, a paramilitary ([link removed]) commander and drug lord, was living in luxury ([link removed]) in Spain.
Read Our Past Coverage of Memo Fantasma > ([link removed])
After interviewing over a dozen Colombian drug traffickers and paramilitaries connected to him, InSight Crime has begun its second series ([link removed]) dedicated to Memo Fantasma ([link removed]) . We do this just as he looks set to walk out of prison ([link removed]) .

[link removed]
26 JUN 2022
Memo Fantasma May Walk Out of Prison: Corruption or Incompetence? ([link removed])

[link removed]
30 JUN 2022
Memo Fantasma to Walk, Thanks to Colombian Prosecutor ([link removed])

Read Our New Investigation Here > ([link removed])
Over the coming weeks, we will unveil the full legacy of one of Colombia’s most notorious criminals. We will reveal his drug trafficking career, from his earliest days in New York working for Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel, to his helping to set up the most brutal of Colombia's warring factions, the paramilitaries ([link removed]) of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. We will expose his inner circle and explore his criminal legacy.
Subscribe here ([link removed]) to follow our future coverage of Memo Fantasma
GET NOTIFICATIONS ABOUT MEMO FANTASMA ([link removed])
Unveiling The Ghost – A Timeline
2020
[link removed]

MAR 2020


** The Invisible Drug Lord
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#INVISIBLES ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed])
InSight Crime publishes its six-part investigation ([link removed]) into Memo Fantasma, revealing him to be Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo, a drug trafficker and paramilitary ([link removed]) commander, living in hiding in Madrid. ([link removed])

[link removed]

MAY 2020


** A Face and a Name
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#ELITES AND CRIME ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed])
Colombia’s Attorney General confirms ([link removed]) that Acevedo is Memo Fantasma as well as his paramilitary career with ([link removed]) the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC ([link removed]) ).


[link removed]

JUL 2020


** Colombia's Vice President
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#ELITES AND CRIME ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed])
Colombia’s Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez presses charges ([link removed]) against InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott, following the revelation that a company run by her husband collaborated ([link removed]) with Memo Fantasma to build a high-rise building in Bogotá. The charges were later dropped ([link removed]) .


2021
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[link removed]

APR 2021


** Retaliation Against the Press
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#ELITES AND CRIME ([link removed]) ([link removed]) #PRESS FREEDOM
Acevedo files criminal libel case ([link removed]) against McDermott, despite widespread official confirmation of InSight Crime’s findings ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

JUN 2021


** Memo Fantasma Behind Bars
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#INVISIBLES ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed])
Memo Fantasma arrested ([link removed]) in Bogotá on charges of money laundering, criminal conspiracy and illicit enrichment. He pleads not guilty but is then sentenced to one year in pre-trial detention.

[link removed]

SEPT 2021


** Memo’s Assets Go to Victims of Conflict
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#INVISIBLES ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed])
Assets worth millions of dollars ([link removed]) belonging to Memo Fantasma to be sold and the proceeds donated to Colombia’s Victims’ Reparation Fund. Memo wants out of prison. ([link removed])

[link removed]

OCT 2021


** High-Level Confirmation
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#AUC ([link removed]) #INVISIBLES ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed])
Top former paramilitary commander, Salvatore Mancuso, speaks to prosecutors ([link removed]) about Acevedo, confirming Memo Fantasma’s high-level leadership within the AUC. A judge rules Memo Fantasma will remain in prison. ([link removed])

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DEC 2021


** Case Against McDermott Dropped
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#AUC ([link removed]) #INVISIBLES ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed])
Acevedo’s libel case against McDermott is dismissed ([link removed]) by Colombian prosecutors.

2022
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[link removed]

JUL 2022


** Memo Free to Go
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#AUC ([link removed]) #INVISIBLES ([link removed]) #COLOMBIA ([link removed]) #ELITES AND CRIME ([link removed])
Memo Fantasma set to soon walk free ([link removed]) as judge lifts his pre-trial detention after a negligent performance by the prosecutor.

Read Our Past Coverage of Memo Fantasma > ([link removed])


** Follow the story. Subscribe here to follow our future coverage of Memo Fantasma
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