Medellín · Colombia

English-speaking criminal defense lawyer in Medellín.

If you have been arrested, summoned by the police or the Fiscalía, or if you are the victim of a crime in Colombia, you do not have to navigate the process in a language you do not speak. I am Julián Ossa Dávila and I work with clients in English.

Chat on WhatsApp Call now: +57 302 358 7930

Meridian Building, Office 805 · El Poblado, Medellín · +57 302 358 7930

Who I am

Julián Ossa Dávila, criminal defense attorney in Medellín, Colombia. Professional card (tarjeta profesional) No. 432.398 issued by the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura, with a postgraduate specialization in criminal law. My practice is devoted exclusively to criminal matters: defending people who are being investigated or prosecuted, and representing victims inside the criminal process.

The firm is based in El Poblado, Medellín, and takes matters throughout Colombia. Consultations, hearings and case updates can be handled in English.

What I handle

If you are arrested or under investigation

Colombia's criminal procedure moves fast. After an arrest, a judge must review the legality of the capture, the prosecutor may formally charge you, and a request for pre-trial detention can be decided within the first hours. I intervene from the first moment:

Attendance at the preliminary hearings (legality of the arrest, charges, pre-trial detention).
Defense strategy, evidence review and litigation through trial.
Requests for release, appeals and alternatives to imprisonment where the law allows them.
Communication with your family or your consulate about where you are and what stage the process is in.

If you are a foreigner and a victim of a crime

Visitors and residents in Medellín are frequently targeted. In Colombia the victim is a party to the criminal process, with the right to be represented by a lawyer. I take these matters:

Dating-app and online scams, extortion and sextortion.
Drugging with scopolamine (burundanga) and similar substances, and the theft that usually follows.
Theft, robbery, and unauthorized charges or transfers from your accounts or phone.
Filing the complaint (denuncia), pushing the investigation forward and claiming compensation inside the process.

Dealing with the police and the Fiscalía

Being summoned for an interview is not the same as being charged, and what you say in that room matters. I go with you, explain in English what is actually being asked, and make sure the record reflects what you said.

DUI in Colombia: what it actually means

Driving under the influence of alcohol in Colombia is, as a general rule, a traffic matter, not a crime. Law 1696 of 2013 tightened the sanctions, which are administrative: fines, suspension or cancellation of your driving licence, immobilization of the vehicle and community service, graded by the degree of intoxication and by whether you have offended before. Refusing the breath or blood test carries its own, heavier sanction.

It becomes a criminal matter when the driving causes harm to someone: negligent personal injury or negligent homicide (lesiones personales culposas or homicidio culposo, Colombian Criminal Code), where being under the influence operates as an aggravating circumstance and can also mean losing your licence for a long period.

In short: a DUI stop with no injured party is handled before the traffic authority. If there was an accident with injuries or a death, you are in the criminal system and you should have a criminal defense lawyer immediately. Foreign licences and immigration status add consequences that are worth reviewing case by case.

This page is general information about Colombian law, not legal advice for a specific case. Every matter depends on its own facts and on the record before the authorities.