Colombian politician accused of public corruption may be hiding in Fort Lauderdale

[Judi Lynn]

1. Convicted of corruption, Ex-Minister Arias seeks asylum in the US: media reports

Convicted of corruption, Ex-Minister Arias seeks asylum in the US: media reports
Jul 11, 2014 posted by Daniel Medendorp Escobar



Ex-Minister of Agriculture Andres Felipe Arias is currently in the United States seeking political asylum, according to Colombian media reports released Friday morning.

The news comes just over a week after Arias was found guilty of embezzling over $25 million through an agricultural subsidy program called Agro Ingreso Seguro (AIS).

Arias was nowhere to be found at the time of his sentencing, leading to suspicions that he escaped the country to avoid imprisonment, as had former intelligence director Maria del Pilar Hurtado, who also served under ex-President Alvaro Uribe. Reports emerged that Arias’s sentence may have been leaked two weeks prior to the announcement, giving the former minister time to leave the country.

Prosecutors successfully demonstrated that Arias had funneled state subsidies intended for poor farmers into the accounts of wealthy and politically powerful families, a beauty queen, and even former paramilitaries.

Arias was “on vacation” in the United States at the time of his sentencing, having been there since June 13 — the same day Colombian media were informed of a potential guilty ruling against him. Bogota-based Blu Radio reports that Arias’ protection squadron has not heard from him since July 13.

More:
http://colombiareports.co/ex-minister-andres-felipe-arias-united-states-media-reports/

[center]

Arias and his boss, former President Alvaro Uribe,
comically dressed in the garb of "men of the soil,"
from whom so much money and land was stolen.