Colombia’s Inspector General is investigating the head of the University of Santander (UIS) for colluding with the paramilitary group the Aguilas Negras.
Rector Jaime Alberto Camacho Pico allegedly provided information on students and teachers to a man who identified himself as a member of the Aguilas Negras, information that was used to create a target list dubbed “plan gun”, local media reports.
The Aguilas Negras are a right-wing paramilitary group that emerged during Colombia’s demobilization process, with operations across the country.
The Inspector General alleged Camacho Pico failed in his duties as university president. Camuacho Pico could also face charges under the criminal code for collaborating with armed groups outside the law.
The investigation comes three years after the release of a recording in which Camuacho Pico allegedly speaks with a paramilitary leader calling himself “Felix”, the newspaper Vanguardia Liberal reported.
Camacho Pico said the accusations made against him three years ago “are absolutely false,” according to the report.
“I trust in justice. I trust the judgement of the university. I know for sure that I have acted honestly,” he said.
The university has a history of ties to both right and left-wing paramilitary groups.
At riots on the campus last summer, FARC sympathisers burned administrative buildings and threw potato bombs, causing an estimated $1.98 million in damages.
The university is the largest in Colombia’s north east.
