Former presidential candidate Gustavo Petro calls for convicted paramilitary ally Enilse Lopez, alias “La Gata” (The Cat) to be investigated over an alleged conspiracy to elect former Prosecutor General Mario Iguaran, W Radio reported Monday.
A cable released Sunday by WikiLeaks revealed how rumors began to circulate in 2008 about AUC paramilitary involvement in the 2005 election of Colombia’s prosecutor general.
Petro wants an investigation into whether the former businesswoman helped bribe Supreme Court magistrates to elect Iguaran, who was elected to the position with the backing of 17 judges out of 25.
According to Petro, WikiLeaks cables indicate there was a meeting in Magangue to discuss the paramilitary conspiracy to get Iguaran elected. The AUC allegedly sought his election as he was deemed “manageable,” with regard to the “parapolitics” scandal, according to newspaper El Espectador.
“What is normal is that if there was a meeting it had to be because she was the boss in that region, and the leader of the conservative party there,” said Petro.
“La Gata,” who was found guilty by a Colombian court on February 1 of conspiracy for her proven links to paramilitary death squads between 2000 and 2003, was known to have a powerful hold over the Magangue district in Colombia’s northeast, where she is widely believed to be responsible for the extortion and violence plaguing the municipality.
Mario Iguaran finished his term as prosecutor general in 2009 and currently serves as the ambassador to Egypt.
