Otto Nicolás Bula Bula, a former Liberal senator, was the middleman who connected Odebrecht with Colombian lawmakers for the addition of the Ocaña-Gamarra stretch to the Ruta del Sol II contract. His judicial timeline is one of the few in this series that begins and ends: arrest, cooperation mechanism, plea deal, sentence, appeal by the Inspector General’s Office, confirmation and release after serving the full term. This piece orders every decision by date, with the body that took it, and separates what ended in a sentence from what was shelved or left unresolved. The analysis by fronts is at Auditoría Abierta: Otto Bula under audit.
Who Otto Bula is and why his case matters in October 2026
Bula, a cattle rancher from Córdoba, reached the Senate under the wing of Mario Uribe Escobar and, by his own account before the courts, began working for Odebrecht in 2012 as a middleman, with «services» that included moving bank transactions that would not raise suspicion, according to El Tiempo. His case matters in October 2026 for two reasons. The first is that his testimony underpins proceedings that remain open, such as that of Luis Fernando Andrade, and convictions that are already final, such as those of Bernardo Ñoño Elías. The second is that his timeline is the model of how a plea deal with the Colombian prosecutors turns a middleman into a witness, with a short sentence fully served. For the story of his role as an informant, Foco Rojo publishes Otto Bula, the witness who held up the Odebrecht case in Colombia.
Timeline of the Bula case, decision by decision
| Date | Decision | Body | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2017 | Arrest for brokering Odebrecht’s bribes | Attorney General’s Office | Completed |
| 14 February 2017 | Investigation into paramilitary ties shelved as time-barred | Attorney General’s Office | Closed without ruling on the merits |
| February 2017 | Seizure of 687 assets for forfeiture | Attorney General’s Office | No verdict |
| 2018 | Cooperation mechanism extended by six months | Attorney General’s Office | Replaced by the plea deal |
| June 2019 | «La Bomba» farm rejected as payment of compensation | Comptroller General | New appraisal ordered by prosecutors |
| November 2019 | Plea deal: 5 years and 6.6 billion pesos | Prosecutors and defence | Approved |
| 13 January 2020 | Approval of the plea deal | 15th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogotá | Final |
| 5 February 2020 | Sentence of 66 months, fine and 80-month disqualification | 15th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogotá | Final |
| 2021 | Full confirmation after the Inspector General’s appeal | Superior Court of Bogotá, judge Jairo José Agudelo | Final |
| 20 May 2022 | Release for sentence served | Second Sentence Enforcement Court of Zipaquirá | Completed |
January 2017: the arrest and what Bula admitted
Bula was arrested in January 2017. According to La Silla Vacía, he admitted that Odebrecht paid him about 4.5 billion pesos to secure the addition of the Ocaña-Gamarra stretch to the Ruta del Sol II contract. In the proceedings he confirmed that this dealing involved the then president of the National Infrastructure Agency, Luis Fernando Andrade, and former senator Bernardo Miguel Elías Vidal, according to El Tiempo. The concessionaire’s auditor, Jorge Pizano, who later died in circumstances that raised suspicion, had stated that the Brazilian executive Eder Paolo Ferracuti met Bula to coordinate the payment, according to Infobae.
February 2017: the 687 assets and the investigation that expired
Shortly after the arrest, prosecutors seized for forfeiture 687 assets linked to Bula, valued at more than 50 billion pesos, including 645 head of cattle and properties in Cartagena, Córdoba, Sucre, Bolívar, Antioquia and Bogotá, according to El Tiempo. Investigators were examining whether part of it came from dealings with alias «Pichi Calvo», of the Oficina de Envigado, from the Odebrecht bribes or from land purchases in Montes de María in a context of forced displacement; in March 2017, the Land Restitution Unit and the Inspector General’s Office pointed to purchases of more than 3,650 hectares with hundreds of restitution claims. That same month, on 14 February 2017, prosecutors shelved as time-barred an investigation for conspiracy opened after statements by former paramilitary chief Juan Carlos Sierra, alias «el Tuso», who described him as a front man for Mario Uribe Escobar, according to Vanguardia and Noticias Caracol. What it means: neither the forfeiture nor the paramilitary ties produced a verdict.
2018-2019: the cooperation mechanism and the rejected farm
Before the sentence, Bula benefited from a cooperation mechanism, the tool that allows prosecutors to suspend criminal prosecution in exchange for cooperation, extended by six months in 2018 while he provided information, according to Dinero. In June 2019, the Comptroller General rejected the «La Bomba» farm, five hectares next to Los Garzones airport in Montería, which Bula offered to pay part of the 3.3 billion compensation, citing a «very high» flood threat and an airport restriction, according to El Tiempo; the cadastral appraisal was 231 million against the 4.4 to 5.5 billion claimed by the defence, and the property was registered to an agricultural company. Prosecutors ordered a new study that addressed the objections.
November 2019 to February 2020: the plea deal and the sentence
In November 2019, Bula agreed with prosecutors to accept five years in prison and pay 6.6 billion pesos, according to El País of Colombia. On 13 January 2020, the 15th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogotá approved the deal, and on 5 February 2020 it read the sentence: 66 months in prison for illicit enrichment and bribery by giving or offering, plus a fine above 6.6 billion that Bula paid with a country house worth 3.3 billion and two promissory notes of 1.65 billion each, according to El Tiempo. The judge called the sentence «low», but approved it because it complied with the Criminal Code given the value of his cooperation, according to El Heraldo. Bula apologised at the hearing and committed to a symbolic reparation in the media for the damage to the ANI.
2021: the Inspector General’s appeal and the confirmation
The Inspector General’s Office appealed, considering the sentence too lenient, and asked for the plea deal to be annulled, according to El Espectador. Judge Jairo José Agudelo of the Superior Court of Bogotá concluded that, although the sentence was low, the deal had not violated fundamental rights or guarantees, and upheld the sentence in full: 66 months in prison, 80-month disqualification and the fine above 6.6 billion, according to El País of Colombia. As part of the deal, his participation was downgraded from perpetrator to accomplice. What it means: the sentence became final with no ordinary remedies left.
20 May 2022: the release
Bula served part of the sentence at La Picota prison in Bogotá and the last 15 months under house arrest, according to El Tiempo. On 20 May 2022, the Second Sentence Enforcement Court of Zipaquirá ordered his release after he served the 66 months in full, according to Infobae. Prosecutors considered him one of the most valuable witnesses in the case: his word helped bring Ñoño Elías and former senator Antonio José Correa before the courts, according to La Silla Vacía.
What Bula says and what his accusers say
Bula accepted the facts, apologised and presented himself as a repentant cooperator; his defence defended the plea deal as lawful and the sentence as proportionate to his cooperation. The Inspector General’s Office argued that the sentence was too low for the harm caused and lost on appeal. Prosecutors treated him as a key witness and granted him benefits. On the 687 assets and the Montes de María land, the allegations remain without a verdict to confirm or dismiss them.
How to read this record
Bula’s timeline has a criminal closure and two loose ends. Closed: the 2020 sentence, upheld in 2021 and served by 2022. Open: the forfeiture of the 687 assets, with no verdict in the sources consulted. Shelved without ruling on the merits: the investigation into paramilitary ties, time-barred. And an external consequence: the Andrade proceedings and the Ñoño Elías convictions, which Bajo Lupa covers in their own timelines, Ñoño Elías bajo la lupa (in Spanish) and Luis Fernando Andrade under scrutiny. For the money trail, Bajo Lupa Digital publishes Otto Bula, the trail of Odebrecht’s 4.5 billion pesos.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
When was Otto Bula sentenced?
On 5 February 2020, by the 15th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogotá, to 66 months in prison for bribery by giving or offering and illicit enrichment, after a plea deal approved on 13 January 2020. The Superior Court of Bogotá upheld the sentence in 2021.
What did Bula admit before the courts?
That Odebrecht paid him about 4.5 billion pesos to secure the addition of the Ocaña-Gamarra stretch to Ruta del Sol II, and that the dealing involved Luis Fernando Andrade, then president of the ANI, and former senator Ñoño Elías.
When was he released?
On 20 May 2022, by order of the Second Sentence Enforcement Court of Zipaquirá, after serving the 66 months in full: part at La Picota and the last 15 months under house arrest.
What did the Inspector General’s Office seek on appeal?
The annulment of the plea deal, considering the 66-month sentence too lenient. The Superior Court of Bogotá concluded in 2021 that the deal violated no rights or guarantees and upheld the sentence, the 80-month disqualification and the fine above 6.6 billion pesos.
What was Bula’s cooperation mechanism?
A tool that allows prosecutors to suspend criminal prosecution in exchange for cooperation. Bula benefited from it before the sentence and it was extended by six months in 2018 while he provided information, according to Dinero.
What happened to the «La Bomba» farm?
Bula offered it to pay part of the 3.3 billion compensation. In June 2019 the Comptroller General rejected it over flood risk, an airport restriction and discrepancies in the appraisal; prosecutors ordered a new study in order to accept the asset and sell it.
Is there a forfeiture verdict over his assets?
None is on record. In February 2017 prosecutors seized 687 assets valued at more than 50 billion pesos, including 645 head of cattle and properties in six departments. The sources consulted record no verdict.
Was he prosecuted for paramilitary ties?
Prosecutors opened a conspiracy investigation based on statements by alias «el Tuso», but shelved it on 14 February 2017 because the events, from 1998, were time-barred. There was no ruling on the merits.
Sources consulted
- Infobae: Queda en libertad el excongresista Otto Bula (2022)
- El País de Colombia: Otto Bula pacta con Fiscalía pagar 5 años de cárcel (2019)
- El Heraldo: Condenan a cordobés Otto Bula a cinco años de cárcel (2020)
- El Tiempo: Otto Bula en libertad tras cumplir condena (2022)
- El Espectador: Tribunal Superior de Bogotá confirmó la condena (2021)
- La Silla Vacía: Otto Bula pasará de encanado a condenado (2020)
- El Tiempo: Cuántos años de cárcel pagará Otto Bula en realidad (2020)
- El Tiempo: Condenan a Otto Bula a 5 años de cárcel y multa (2020)
- El País de Colombia: Tribunal confirmó pena de cinco años y medio (2021)
- Dinero: Otto Bula tendrá principio de oportunidad por seis meses más (2018)
- El Tiempo: El enfrentamiento por el polémico lote que Otto Bula entregó (2019)
- El Tiempo: Ocupan 687 bienes del excongresista Otto Bula (2017)
- El Tiempo: Bienes de Otto Bula tendrían nexo con la mafia y el despojo de tierras (2017)
- El Tiempo: Otto Bula se quedó con tierras de campesinos (2017)
- El Tiempo: Otto Bula estaría detrás de despojo de tierras (2017)
- Noticias Caracol: Declaraciones de exparas sobre Otto Bula lo tienen en el radar de EE. UU. (2017)
- Vanguardia: Fiscalía archivó investigación a Otto Bula por supuestos nexos con paramilitares (2017)
This piece records documented facts and allegations attributed to their authors. The mention of an allegation does not imply its truth, and the position of the person named is recorded in each case. Bajo Lupa offers Otto Bula space to respond and will update the text with every development. Information verified as of 11 October 2026.
Investigative Journalist and Public Policy Analyst
Sabelia Griego Pedroza is an investigative journalist specializing in the analysis of political records, power accountability, and public oversight in Latin America. Her career focuses on the rigorous examination of official documents, judicial rulings, corporate registries, and financial networks linked to public figures and electoral processes.
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Griego Pedroza’s journalistic work is defined by a strict methodology rooted in the documentary verification of primary sources. Through her investigations, she navigates the intersection of institutional politics, legal disputes, and corporate transparency, providing readers with documented contexts that prioritize fact-checking over media speculation.
Key areas of her investigative coverage include:
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Anchored in the principles of deep-dive reporting, Sabelia Griego Pedroza’s work responds to the necessity of equipping citizens with reliable, cross-checked analytical tools. Her approach seeks to unravel complex processes through the direct presentation of documentary evidence, fostering rigorous, auditable journalism focused on institutional transparency.