Colombian president Gustavo Petro on Monday denied a news report that a guerilla group had allegedly worked with a military commander and an intelligence official to evade controls and purchase weapons.
The Caracol network on Sunday published chats and documents involving General Juan Manuel Huertas and National Intelligence Directorate official Wilmar Mejia in which they allegedly shared sensitive information with FARC dissidents who rejected the 2016 peace agreement, stirring reactions on social media.
The network’s reporting alleged rebels led by Calarca, an alias, worked with the officials to create a security company that appeared legitimate, and allowed the rebels to travel undetected in armored vehicles and carry weapons, evading local authorities.
The leftist president said the “versions of alleged intelligence reports” are “false.”
“The journalist’s source is the CIA, which has a habit of setting up networks to influence public opinion to suit the global interests of its country’s government,” Petro said, referring to the administration of US President Donald Trump.
In a statement, Colombia’s prosecutor’s office said the case is under investigation and Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo has ordered it to be expedited.
The statement on X said Camargo ordered “advancing the investigation of links regarding possible co-optation of intelligence agents and members of the military by FARC dissidents, threats to national security.”
Bogota and Washington have been at odds since Trump’s re-election, derailing a decades-long allegiance against the so-called war on drugs.
The US revoked Petro’s visa after he spoke at a pro-Palestinian street rally in New York, has imposed sanctions, and decertified Colombia as an ally in anti-drug efforts.
Bogota has responded by halting arms purchases from the US and recalling its ambassador from Washington.
Before the current break, Colombia had received more US aid than any other country in South America — $740 million in 2023, according to US government figures. Half of that went to fighting drug trafficking.
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