Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Judi Lynn

(160,630 posts)
Sat Apr 4, 2015, 05:46 AM Apr 2015

Colombia: DEA Agents in New Prostitution Scandal

Colombia: DEA Agents in New Prostitution Scandal
By Bill Weinberg · Thu Apr 02, 2015

DEA agents in Colombia held sex parties with prostitutes hired by narco-traffickers, according to an investigation by the US Justice Department released March 26. In a series of interviews with DoJ's Office of the Inspector General, former Colombian police officers said that they arranged the parties at government-leased quarters between 2005 and 2008, and also provided protection for the agents' weapons and property during the affairs. The report goes on to detail how several DEA agents were provided money, gifts, and weapons by local drug cartel operatives.

The Washington Post confirmed the parties took place in Cartagena, the scene of the 2012 sex scandal involving the US Secret Service. According to Colombia Reports, the DoJ investigation also found that laptops, BlackBerrys, and other government-issued equipment was often present at the parties, creating security risks and potentially exposing the agents to blackmail, extortion and other forms of coercion. The harshest penalty imposed on a participating DEA agent was a 10-day suspension. The report also found that DEA officials attempted to thwart the DoJ investigation, offering little meaningful information even though they possessed knowledge of the events. "It's extremely troubling that federal drug agents lacked the common sense to know that engaging with prostitutes hired by drug cartels was a bad idea," House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), said in a statement.

Colombia Reports also notes that a new report commissioned by the Colombian government found in March that US soldiers and military contractors sexually abused at least 54 children in Colombia between 2003 and 2007. The suspects have apparently not been prosecuted due to immunity clauses in bilateral agreements between Washington and Bogotá. The 800-page independent report as part of Colombia's peace process, to help negotiators determine who is responsible for the more than 7 million officially documented victims of the armed conflict.

One of the scholars who helped prepare the report, Renan Vega of the Pedagogic University in Bogotá, cited one 2004 case in the central Colombian town of Melgar (Tolima department), where 53 underage girls were sexually abused by military contractors "who moreover filmed the abuse and sold the films as pornographic material." The victims were forced to flee the region after their families received death threats.

More:
http://www.hightimes.com/read/colombia-dea-agents-new-prostitution-scandal?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HIGHTIMESMagazine+%28HIGH+TIMES+Magazine%29

3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Colombia: DEA Agents in New Prostitution Scandal (Original Post) Judi Lynn Apr 2015 OP
DEA Agents Took Part in Colombia Sex Parties, Watchdog Says Judi Lynn Apr 2015 #1
"sexually abused at least 54 children in Colombia between 2003 and 2007" bemildred Apr 2015 #2
These must be the "good relations with the U.S." forest444 Apr 2015 #3

Judi Lynn

(160,630 posts)
1. DEA Agents Took Part in Colombia Sex Parties, Watchdog Says
Sat Apr 4, 2015, 05:49 AM
Apr 2015

DEA Agents Took Part in Colombia Sex Parties, Watchdog Says
by 'By'Del Quentin Wilber and Joe Sobczyk
10:05 AM CDT
March 26, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. drug enforcement agents allegedly engaged in “sex parties” with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels in Colombia and visited brothels while on overseas assignments, creating potential security risks, a Justice Department investigation found.

The allegations were contained in a 131-page report by the department’s inspector general following an investigation into the handling of sexual harassment and misconduct claims at the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The inspector general said it found “relatively few reported allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct” among the law enforcement agencies. Even so, the review revealed “significant systemic problems with the disciplinary and security processes requiring corrective action across” DEA, FBI, the Marshals Service and ATF.

. . .

Prostitution Scandal

The review follows a prostitution scandal that implicated Secret Service agents and members of the military who were in Colombia preparing for the arrival of President Barack Obama at a summit in 2012. The Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Secret Service, and the military conducted their own probes of that incident. The Justice Department report covers the period from 2009 to 2012, though some of the cases cited occurred as far back as 2005.

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/dea-agents-took-part-in-colombia-sex-parties-watchdog-says

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
2. "sexually abused at least 54 children in Colombia between 2003 and 2007"
Sat Apr 4, 2015, 07:31 AM
Apr 2015

If nothing else will do, maybe these corrupt pedos will get the drug war ended.

"who moreover filmed the abuse and sold the films as pornographic material."

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Latin America»Colombia: DEA Agents in N...