Colombia’s military intelligence chief dismissed over peace talks wiretappings
Colombia’s military intelligence chief dismissed over peace talks wiretappings
posted by Daniel E Freeman
Feb 5, 2014
Colombia’s defense minister announced on Tuesday that four high members of the Armed Forces would be dismissed after weekly magazine, Semana, revealed that delegations taking part in peace talks between the government and the rebel group FARC were wiretapped.
“In agreement with the general commander of the Armed Forces and the commander of the National Army, we have decided to relieve from their positions, the Chief of Military Intelligence (Ricardo Zuñiga) and the director of the Technical Intelligence Center of the National Army (Oscar Zuluaga),” said Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon at a press conference on Tuesday evening.
The minister included that behavior such as this is intolerable.
In what appears to be a rapid attempt to have someone fall on his sword, these military officers were forced to step down after Semana published a 15-month investigative story with accusations that the Armed Forces have been wiretapping both the government’s and the rebel group FARC’s delegations in ongoing peace talks in Havana, Cuba. The report that shook the country, also asserted that the military had been receiving funding and support from the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in carrying out the alleged wiretapping.
Shortly after the story broke, President Juan Manuel Santos took to Colombia’s airwaves assuring the public that he had no prior knowledge about instances of wiretapping, but insisted that this matter would be fully investigated.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/ministry-defense-dismisses-chief-military-intelligence-alleged-wiretappings/