Colombian general fired as army officers arrested on charges of working for cocaine cartel

[Judi Lynn]

Source: International Herald Tribune/Associated Press

Colombian general fired as army officers arrested on charges of working for cocaine cartel
The Associated Press
Published: August 10, 2007

BOGOTA, Colombia: Colombia has removed a general from his post at the head of an army division where a number of officers stand accused of working for the country's largest cocaine cartel, a Defense Ministry official said Friday.

Gen. Hernando Perez Molina was relieved of his command of the army's Third Division in western Colombia — a stronghold of the Norte del Valle cartel — said the official, who declined to be named because she was not authorized to speak on the matter. The government had not issued an official statement.

Since the scandal broke two weeks ago, two captains, a major and two lieutenant colonels have been arrested for allegedly turning a blind eye to the cartel's operations, according to the Defense Ministry official.
(snip)

The scandal comes as Democrats in Washington are reviewing hundreds of millions of dollars (euros) of anti-drug aid to Colombia and insisting the army improve its human rights record.

Though surveys show the military is one of Colombia's most respected institutions, the army has been dogged by scandals in recent years over accusations it worked shoulder-to-shoulder with paramilitary groups involved in drug trafficking, kidnappings, peasant massacres and other atrocities from the country's long civil conflict.


Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/10/america/LA-GEN-Colombia-Army-Scandal.php

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Gen. Hernando Perez Molina



Diego Montoya, "Don Diego," the general's drug lord boss, shown in the lower circle
of the group photo, in the company of Argentinian soccer star, Diego Maradona

[DCKit]

1. Where's the pic of his CIA handler? n/t

[Judi Lynn]

2. More info. on the boss of this high-ranking Colombian military officer.

North Valle Cartel leader Diego Montoya Sánchez, "Don Diego," perhaps the most wanted narco-criminal in the world, "is presently protected by the Colombian paramilitary group, 'Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia' (AUC)," according to his FBI wanted poster. (Montoya is on the FBI's worldwide Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, alongside Osama bin Laden. <8> ) Colombian news reports indicate that the AUC came close to granting "Don Diego" a position at the Ralito negotiating table (as the head of a new 150-man bloc, the "Heroes of Ríonegro"), but ultimately refused his request, considering him to be too important to harbor in their zone. <9> Nonetheless, the AUC is reportedly protecting him somewhere in the Magdalena Medio region of north-central Colombia.
(snip)

http://ciponline.org/colombia/041207cip.htm

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So we're finding out in the last few years that U.S. taxpayers' hard-earned and dearly needed (by the taxpayers) dollars have been going to fund the military which has been backing up the paramilitaries (death squads) which have made Colombia nice and safe for the fiendish, mega-wealthy drug kings. Cool, huh? Why don't we ever get a chance to vote on these things?