'Uribe advised aide to seek asylum over wiretap scandal'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Colombia Reports

'Uribe advised aide to seek asylum over wiretap scandal'
Monday, 22 November 2010 11:56 Adriaan Alsema

Panama's decision to grant political asylum to a former director of Colombia's intelligence service DAS, who is under investigation for the illegal wiretapping of opponents of former President Alvaro Uribe, is leading to speculation that Uribe's closest aides are fleeing abroad to avoid incriminating their former boss.

According to Colombia's Interior and Justice Ministry, six suspects in the wiretap scandal have sought political asylum in Panama, but the Panamanian government denies this and says it has only received an extradition request from the former DAS director.

According to Noticias Uno director and Semana columnist Daniel Coronell, Del Pilar Hurtado told him personally that Uribe advised his former intelligence chief to consider seeking asylum.

In his weekly column in Semana, Coronell references "the close friendship Uribe has with the Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, and the businesses and frequent visits to that country of the sons of the former president."



Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13031-uribe-advised-aide-to-seek-asylum-over-wiretap-scandal.html

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http://www.borev.net.nyud.net:8090/boyfriends.jpg http://realydad.blogdiario.com.nyud.net:8090/img/uribe.muerte.jpg

Colombia's Uribe and friend.

Earlier information posted by DU'er rabs in Latin America forum:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x44679

[awoke_in_2003]

1. shit, just come hear...

wiretapping is ok in the US

[Peace Patriot]

2. I didn't know of the "close friendship" but I still don't think Martinelli would do this without

an order from Langley. It is too explosive as an Inter-Latin American insult to another country's justice system for Martinelli to do it out of friendship or even bribery. I guess we shouldn't underestimate how low these rightwing U.S. client 'presidents' in Latin America would stoop in groveling anticipation of their masters' wishes, without prompting. Also, Uribe commands death squads as well as large sums of money. That's something for Martinelli to think about. Are mafia friendships inviolable? Perhaps this bought him some life insurance.

But primarily I favor an order from Panetta, as the real motivator for Martinelli, because that's what I think one of Panetta's chief missions is, as CIA Director--covering up Bush Jr bloody trail through Colombia, of which Uribe would be THE key witness, if he ever had need of ratting on Junior. Panetta had to make the witnesses against Uribe go away. That is happening on schedule. First, they extradited death squad witnesses to the U.S. and 'buried' them in the U.S. federal prison system--out of the reach of Colombian prosecutors and over their objections--by completely sealing the witnesses' cases in the U.S. federal court in Washington DC.

Now they're working on Uribe's spying problem and got the chief witness out of Dodge. I think the Bush Junta was complicit on both types of crimes--the death squads and the spying. God knows what else they were complicit in--major drug trafficking probably. But there is a growing list of suspicious circs on the many Colombian military and paramilitary murders--of trade unionists, human rights workers, teachers, community activists, political leftists, journalists, peasant farmers and others--and on Uribe's various spying capabilities, including spying on judges, prosecutors and political leaders. The suspicious circs point to U.S. military and U.S. military 'contractor' involvement in both the murders and the spying, authorized by Junior, as well as suspicious circs that Obama, Clinton and Panetta are covering it up.

This greatly adds to my surmise that this very weird (overnight) asylum that Martinelli granted to Hurtado (the chief spying witness against Uribe) is not primarily based on friendship or bribery. It would be critically important to Daddy Bush pal Panetta, if my guess about him is right--that he's covering up Junior's trail. And for Martinelli to throw over Latin America's progress on respecting each other's laws is a rather big deal. It's going to cause him serious diplomatic and political problems in the region.

As for the Obama administration, Obama, Clinton and Eric Holder have already greatly facilitated removing the death squad witnesses, and furthermore left Bush ambassador to Colombia, William Brownfield, in place until recently, white he arranged the midnight extraditions and also got a document signed by Uribe--the secretly negotiated U.S./Colombia military agreement--granting "total diplomatic immunity" to all U.S. military personnel and all U.S. military 'contractors' in Colombia. I'm thinking that this was meant to protect at least Blackwater and Junior's authorization of Blackwater activities in Colombia. But there could be yet more. Were U.S. military personnel also involved in "unauthorized" "trainings" of "foreign persons" IN COLOMBIA "for use in Iraq and Afghanistan"? This is what the State Department just "fined" Blackwater for doing. Don't know the time frame. Don't know who the "foreign persons" were. Don't know what they were "training" them to do. And don't believe the word "unauthorized."

The Colombian supreme court declared that secretly negotiated military agreement unconstitutional. This could be a factor in this current situation. 'How dare they!? How uppity!? Don't they know who their masters are?!' The U.S. war establishment may be quite irked. And those cleaning up after Junior (by cleaning up after Uribe) may be concerned that the "total diplomatic immunity" won't be useable for protecting him and others. These insults to Colombian prosecutors and judges may also be a warning--on top of sabotaging their investigations. 'Quit now if you want to live.'

Meanwhile--as Uribe and protectors shred Colombia's legal system--Uribe is being celebrated as a "legal scholar" at Harvard and Georgetown and got a prestigious appointment to an international legal commission from the Obama administration (the one investigating Israel's firing on aid boats). And Junior is building his lie-bury. It's enough to make you vomit.

[naaman fletcher]

3. eh..

Martinelli and the CIA are not close. Martinelli has "gone rogue". The CIA has no interest in, nor has supported the underlying unrest that the paranoid asshole martinelli has created.

[Judi Lynn]

4. It's an enormously wrong move for Martinelli to offer sanctuary from prosecution

by Colombia's legal system to this clown, no way to avoid it, whatsoever.

He most clearly wouldn't want Colombia to return the favor.

So glad you've pointed this out. It will be very interesting to see what the final resolution of this terrible mistake will be.

Here's some text by google translation taken from Colombian newspaper, El Tiempo:

Asylum Maria del Pilar Hurtado complicates the President of Panama
By: Editorial eltiempo.com | 9:48 p.m. | November 22, 2010

Ricardo Martinelli resists rain of criticism from the Catholic Church and opposition in his country.

While in Colombia's attorney general, Guillermo Mendoza, still does not make decisions against former officials of the DAS in the case of 'pikes' (wiretaps trials) judges, politicians and journalists, President Ricardo Martinelli Panama faces a political storm grant asylum to Maria del Pilar Hurtado, Former director of intelligence agency. Even the Archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa, criticized the actions of Martinelli, who yesterday, through the Vice ministry, officially notified the asylum.

"It was a mistake, the Government has a duty to explain to the Panamanians reasons for this measure. It is contradictory and confusing, do not understand," said the prelate to broadcasters.

Meanwhile, former Panamanian Vice President Samuel Lewis Navarro said his country's law states clearly the justifications for giving asylum, and that the Hurtado case does not match the figure of "political persecution" of the applicant. To this was added Laurentino Cortizo opposition leader, who said it was "a great favor to him by the Government of Panama's former President Alvaro Uribe."

~snip~
Former President Uribe refused in Honduras, to make statements on the asylum Hurtado. "Another question" was the former president's response to a reporter.

More:
http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-8423541.html