State officials will investigate claims of bribery and paramilitary involvement in the election of former Prosecutor General Mario Iguaran.
A report in newspaper El Espectador states that Current Prosecutor General Viviane Morales and Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez will look into the case regarding the alleged offering of $2.62 million (COP5 billion) to Supreme Court judges to guarantee the ex-official’s election.
According to an article by RCN Radio, Iguaran, who is the current Colombian ambassador to Egypt, said that he will cooperate fully with the case, because he wishes to have the situation resolved as soon as possible.
The initial allegations in March 2010 were made by presumed drug trafficker John Eidelber Cano, alias “Jhonny Cano,” and by a retired official from the National Police. According to the two men, extradited AUC paramilitary Carlos Mario Jimenez, alias “Macaco,” had given the money to ensure the election of Iguaran.
In February of this year, Wikileaks surfaced a 2008 cable sent by then-Ambassador William Brownfield from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. The cable discussed these same rumors and thus indicated that allegations had surfaced two years earlier than previously thought.
