Colombia police chief said exorcism helped nab drug lord Pablo Escobar, then he was fired
- Henry Sanabria said officers used exorcism and prayer to tackle crime and the country’s most powerful criminals, including drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar
- President Gustavo Petro thanked Sanabria on Twitter for his hard work without giving details about why he was removed from his post
Colombia’s government on Wednesday fired the country’s police chief, Henry Sanabria, weeks after the devout Catholic revealed he used exorcism and prayer to help him tackle crime and pursue drug lords.
Sanabria sparked a scandal in mid-March when he told an interviewer that he and other police officials were performing exorcisms to snag drug traffickers.
He also expressed his opposition to abortion – which is legal in Colombia, a secular South American nation with Catholic traditions – and to the use of condoms.
During the interview his office appeared cluttered with crucifixes, effigies of the Virgin Mary and other Catholic symbols.
“I appreciate General Henry Sanabria’s hard work” for the Colombian police, leftist President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter, without giving details about why he was removed from his post.
A police official speaking on condition of anonymity to a local media outlet said Sanabria, who took over as chief in August 2022, has been urging his subordinates to attend religious retreats.
Sanabria was recently implicated for negligence after a violent protest against an oil company in which two people died and 78 law enforcement officials were held hostage for days by protesters.