Colombia's intelligence director facing 25 years in prison

by: jim kouri | published: 09 19, 2011

A federal court in Bogota, Colombia, sentenced the disgraced former director of Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS) on Wednesday to 25 years in prison for his involvement in a number of crimes including murder, abuse of power and conspiracy in major crimes.

Following a long and all-encompassing investigation, the Supreme Court of Justice found Jorge Noguera -- the country's top intelligence official -- guilty of collaborating with a paramilitary organization known as United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

The court discovered Noguera's involvement in the murder of trade unionist Zully Esther Codina, politician and sociologist Fernando Pisciotti, and human rights activist Alfredo Correa de Andreis.

Noguera was also allegedly involved in an eavedropping scandal involving unlawful and a unauthorized phone-tapping operation that targeted a long list of political opponents, journalists and civil activists while former President Alvaro Uribe was in office.

Noguera was the head of DAS during Uribe's first term from August 2002 to October 2005 and in 2006 he became Colombia's diplomatic consul in Italy. At the time the first evidence of paramilitary infiltration into Colombia's government started to emerge.

The country's top intelligence officer was originally accused by the former DAS information system chief, Rafael Garcia, of leaking Colombia's intelligence information to the AUC paramilitary group, but then-President Uribe refused to accept the accusations as true.

Noguera was imprisoned in February 2007 and was formally charged a year later by National General Attorney's Office with crimes such as financially supporting the AUC, offering criminal groups access to DAS intelligence service and having their criminal records removed in exchange for silencing civil society leaders who opposed Uribe's government.

Noguera was also denied the right to hold any public positions for 20 years after completing his prison term, according to the court.

AUC is a far-right paramilitary group similar to Colombia's FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), a Marxist-guerrilla organization now involved in cocaine-trafficking operations and other criminal enterprises,"

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