Wiretapping scandal increasingly reveals political persecution under Uribe
Source: Colombia Reports
Wiretapping scandal increasingly reveals political persecution under Uribe
Mar 21, 2015 posted by Alice Bradshaw-Smith
As Colombias Supreme Court investigates illegal spying by the countrys former intelligence agency, an increasing amount of details are revealed about the alleged political persecution of leftist opponents of former President Alvaro Uribe.
A former director of Colombian intelligence agency DAS, Jorge Noguera, is currently on trial for various charges surrounding the wiretapping scandal that has already seen multiple convictions of Uribes former chief of staff and a second intelligence chief.
Colombias now-defunct intelligence agency, the DAS, did not report to anyone but the president and had been spying on the Supreme Court, journalists, human rights defenders and politicians in a scandal that was uncovered in 2008.
Uribe has for years claimed himself to be victim of political persecution over his suspected involvement in the illegal activities of the spy agency.
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Later dubbed the Colombian Watergate scandal, it sparked a worldwide outrage as it not only implicated the Colombian president as the alleged force behind the illegal surveillance but also drew ties to the US a close ally and financial contributor to Colombia.
Read more: http://colombiareports.co/wiretapping-scandal-increasingly-reveals-political-persecution-under-uribe/
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George W Bush awarding the Medal of Freedom to Alvaro Uribe. [/center]