Legal proceedings advance in fatal collapse cases in Argentina and Colombia

Legal proceedings continue regarding two separate fatal incidents in Argentina and Colombia.

In Argentina, prosecutors and the victims' legal team are seeking to move the case involving the 2020 Aristóbulo del Valle collapse to an oral trial. The collapse, which occurred during building renovations, resulted in the deaths of Nélida Deolinda Romero de Gitto and 19-year-old Carlos Javier Rodríguez Peralta. Oscar Ángel Gitto and Moisés Jonás Walter Abdala remain charged with aggravated culpable havoc. A recent ruling by the Tribunal de Impugnaciones revoked a previously granted suspension of trial for Abdala, allowing the prosecution to pursue a full trial.

In Colombia, judicial processes are advancing following the 2022 collapse of grandstands at the Gilberto Charry bullring in El Espinal, which killed four people and injured hundreds. First-instance court rulings have held the Municipality of El Espinal administratively and patrimonially responsible for certain deaths. These rulings include orders for indemnification for moral and material damages, such as approximately 370 million pesos for the death of Marco Fidel Hernández and other settlements for victims like Blanca Lilia Sandoval.