US conviction of Uribe aide to have 'profound impact' on Colombia politics .
Source: Colombia Reports
US conviction of Uribe aide to have 'profound impact' on Colombia politics .
Tuesday, 21 August 2012 05:51 Adriaan Alsema
The U.S. conviction of former President Alvaro Uribe's security chief for aligning with paramilitary groups may have a "profound impact" on Colombian politics and the country's military, said experts. "There will be people in high places in Colombia who will be nervous about this."
in the plea agreement between retired General Mauricio Santoyo and Eastern District of Virginia prosecutors, the disgraced Uribe aide acknowledged that from 2001 to 2008 he helped the AUC thwart anti-trafficking efforts by the U.S. and Colombia in exchange for bribes.
Santoyo also acknowledged that his assistance included tipping off AUC members to upcoming law enforcement arrest operations, divulging information about ongoing wiretaps, informing members of investigations by Colombian, British and U.S. law enforcement, and conducting unauthorized wiretaps of rivals.
"During the course of this conspiracy, high-level AUC members and associates would pay substantial bribes to the defendant in exchange for the defendant's assistance in their operations, which included the commission of terrorist acts and drug-trafficking," read the plea agreement, which the Justice Department made public.
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