The jailed ex-security chief of former president Alvaro Uribe is willing to officially testify against his old boss and other senior officials, claimed W Radio Wednesday.
Uribe’s former chief of security, Mauricio Santoyo, is willing to implicate the ex-president and other top officials, according to “highly credible” sources in the armed forces, said W Radio. It is alleged that Santoyo made the move in an attempt to secure a reduced sentence.
Santoyo is currently incarcerated in the U.S. for collaborating with the now defunct paramilitary group AUC. His convictions stemmed from acts of illegal wiretapping, intimidation, kidnappings and disappearances.
Santoyo also previously acknowledged accepting bribes from paramilitary members in exchange for giving them information about police operations being carried out against them.
The ex-official is just one of the many public figures who have been implicated in the parapolitics scandal – the seeking of political or economic benefits through ties with paramilitary groups. While many of those charged, such as Sontoyo, were closely allied to Uribe, the former head of state has so far escaped conviction.
The latest rumors followed reports on September 19 that the U.S. is not investigating any Colombian police officials. General Jose Roberto Leon said that the “toughest” prosecutor in the U.S. on the matter of drug trafficking confirmed that for the moment “there are no current investigations against active or retired officials” of the Colombian police.
