VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBO #1094 0792142
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 192142Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2035
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8115
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 0154
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR 9336
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 6029
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 6683
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 4354
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS BOGOTA 001094
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: LEAK IN PARA-POLITICAL INVESTIGATION LEADS TO ONE
RESIGNATION IN FISCALIA
1. (U) On March 19, Prosecutor General Mario Iguaran accepted
the resignation of Martha Luz Hurtado, a prosecutor before
the Supreme Court working on investigations related to the
ongoing para-political scandal, after a suspected leak of
information. The Prosecutor Generals Office (Fiscalia)
acknowledged Iguaran had requested the resignation letters of
Hurtado and 13 other officials. Hurtado's resignation
followed accusations that details on a small number of
para-political investigations were leaked to subjects of the
inquiries and the media from the Fiscalia. Iguaran convened
a meeting on March 18 to discuss the leak, which involved
probes of Antioquia Governor Luis Alfredo Ramos and members
of Congress from Antioquia Department. Ramos called Iguaran
seeking information on the status of any investigations
against him, sparking Iguaran's leak investigation.
2. (U) At the March 18 meeting, Iguaran demanded answers on
the source of the leak from Vice Fiscal Guillermo Mendoza
Diago, National Director German Ortega, Technical
Investigative Unit (CTI) Director Marilu Mendez, and eleven
delegates before the Supreme Court. No one claimed
responsibility, but all offered symbolic letters of
resignation. The Fiscalia announced on March 19 that Iguaran
accepted only Hurtado's resignation, without offering
details. Iguaran expressed his full confidence in the other
Fiscalia officials.
3. (SBU) The Supreme Court has not announced formal
investigations against Ramos or the other Antioquia
politicians in the leak incident, but speculation that
members of Congress from President Alvaro Uribe's home
department will likely be implicated have been circulating in
Congress for months. The Court, as confirmed by the leak,
has begun preliminary investigations to determine whether
politicians from the region will be named as suspects.
Former-Senator Mario Uribe, the president's distant cousin,
remains under formal investigation as a suspect, and a total
of 23 members of Congress have been jailed in the scandal.
Fifty eight Congressmen, 11 governors, and 9 mayors have been
implicated. Senate Secretary General Emilio Otero told us he
expected a small number of additional members of Congress,
including some from Antioquia, to be implicated as the
Supreme Court and Fiscalia continue to push their
investigations.
Brownfield