Army murder suspect sent on 'OAS mission' (haven in the U.S. for Colombian)

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Colombia Reports

Army murder suspect sent on 'OAS mission'
Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:37 Adriaan Alsema

A Colombian army colonel suspected of having ordered the extrajudicial execution of four civilians is not able to appear before court, because he is in Washington on an Organization of American States (OAS) mission, the army said Tuesday.

Following an article in newspaper El Tiempo that reported on colonel Jose Gabriel Castrillon's absence in two court hearings, the army told the paper that the official "is on a diplomatic mission as an advisor before the OAS" and will be back on July 13, 2011.

Colombia's ambassador to the OAS Luis Alfonso Hoyos admitted he had accredited the colonel on July 14 "for his good performance" to study at the Inter-American Defense School, three months after the Prosecutor General's Office filed criminal charges against the military official.

According to the army, Castrillon's court case does not impede Castrillon from carrying out his job.

The news angered family members of the victims of the extrajudicial killings allegedly carried out by the colonel's men. According to El Tiempo, they sent a letter to President Juan Manuel Santos to request the return of the colonel's, whose trip they consider "an award for forced disappearance."

Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13403-army-murder-suspect-sent-on-oas-mission.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Panama reviewing more asylum requests from Colombian ex-officials

Panama reviewing more asylum requests from Colombian ex-officials
Friday, 17 December 2010 06:55 Adriaan Alsema

Panama President Ricardo Martinelli admitted Thursday that his country is reviewing several political asylum requests from Colombian former government officials who are being investigated for crimes in their country.

In an interview with CNN en Español, Martinelli claimed "not to remember" which former officials had requested political asylum, but said his government is reviewing their cases, several Colombian media reported.

RCN Radio talked to CNN journalist Juan Carlos Lopez, who said that the controversy caused by the political asylum granted to former intelligence chief Maria del Pilar Hurtado has delayed the other requests. According to Lopez, Martinelli considers the political asylums "an issue that could cause more problems in his country and, because of that, the other requests would have to wait."

Martinelli denied that Colombia's former president, and a personal friend, Alvaro Uribe had asked him to grant asylum to former aides and employees.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13441-panama-received-more-political-asylum-requests-by-colombian-former-officials-cnn.html

[Judi Lynn]

2. DAS official sentenced to 8 years jail (Colombia's FBI & CIA)

DAS official sentenced to 8 years jail
Friday, 17 December 2010 06:38 Adriaan Alsema

http://colombiareports.com.nyud.net:8090/pics/2010/10/fernando_tabares_das.jpg

A former top official of state intelligence agency DAS was sentenced on Thursday to eight years and four months in jail for the illegal wiretapping of government opponents.

With the ruling, the Bogota judge confirms the jail sentence Tabares and the Prosecutor General's Office agreed upon in exchange for the ex-official's cooperation with justice.

The former intelligence director of the DAS is one of the leading figures within the state intelligence agency who ordered the illegal wiretaps. His former immediate boss, Maria del Pilar Hurtado, recently fled to Panama to avoid prosecution after Tabares and other officials accused her, former chief of staff Bernardo Moreno, former Press Secretary Cesar Mauricio Velasques and former president Alvaro Uribe's personal advisor Jose Obdulio Gaviria, of having been informed of the results of the illegal wiretapping.

The three presidential employees are still under criminal investigation. Uribe is under investigation by a congressional commission.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13440-judge-sentences-das-official-to-8-years-4-months.html

[Judi Lynn]

3. Uribe Ordered Illegal Wiretaps, Former Colombian Spy Says

Caracas,
Sunday
December 19,2010
Uribe Ordered Illegal Wiretaps, Former Colombian Spy Says

BOGOTA – A former senior official of Colombia’s DAS security service who is currently jailed over an illegal wiretapping scandal said the main intended recipient of transcripts of the intercepted communication was ex-President Alvaro Uribe.

William Romero told radio stations that he received orders from then-DAS director Maria del Pilar Hurtado – who went into exile in Panama a few weeks ago – to spy on Supreme Court justices.

Hurtado told her subordinates the order for the illegal spying came from Uribe, who left office in August after two four-year terms, Romero said.

The targets of the warrantless wiretapping by DAS, which reports directly to the office of the president, included Supreme Court justices, opposition politicians, journalists and activists, including foreigners visiting Colombia.

More:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=381815&CategoryId=12393