Spy scandal hits Colombian intelligence

Colombia’s beleaguered intelligence agency (DAS, in Spanish) has come under fire over allegations that rogue agents illegally wiretapped politicians, members of the press, and judges.

"I have ordered a probe of the DAS interception systems and controls," Attorney General Mario Iguaran said yesterday after an article in local newsmagazine Semana detailed how DAS agents illicitly worked for criminal groups.

As Colombia Reports mentioned:

According to this week's publication, judges of the Supreme Court, the directors of Caracol Radio, W Radio, Noticias UNO and weekly Semana were bugged, as well as a respected columnist from newspaper El Espectador. The investigated media all operate relatively independently and at times are very critical of the government.

The judges allegedly were tapped when the Supreme Court was clashing with the Presidency over the bribery investigation of (former) ministers and the investigation of mostly coalition congressmen with ties to paramilitary groups.

In response to the allegations, DAS’ head of counterintelligence resigned along with other senior officers. DAS director Felipe Munoz Gomez (image) didn’t quit and appears to be safe in his post for the time being.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said this morning that he denied ordering the DAS wiretaps and was, in fact, a “victim” of said events.

This is not the first time that DAS has been caught in scandal under the Uribe administration. His first director- Jorge Noguera- quit in 2005 and is currently in jail for his alleged ties to right-wing paramilitaries. Anther DAS director- Maria del Pilar Hurtado- resigned in November after a key opposition senator accused the agency of secretly monitoring his actions.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- Reuters, Colombia Reports, Al Jazeera English, AP, The Latin Americanist