Berliner Tageblatt - Colombia general, intel boss suspended over alleged guerilla ties

The Caracol TV network on Sunday published messages and documents appearing to show General Juan Manuel Huertas and National Intelligence Directorate official Wilmar Mejia sharing information with a rebel leader, which allowed him to evade security controls and procure weapons.

The guerrilla boss, who goes by the alias Calarca, is commander of a dissident faction of the defunct rebel army FARC which opposed a 2016 peace deal with the state.

The group is in peace talks with the left-wing government of President Gustavo Petro.

A source in the attorney-general's office told AFP that Huertas and Mejia had been suspended by a body responsible for overseeing public officials.

The allegations against them emerged from intelligence gleaned from phones and other devices seized in July 2024, when Calarca and other dissidents were temporarily detained.

The rebels were later released due to the peace process now under way.

The Caracol report alleged that the rebels worked with Huertas and Mejia to set up a security company that appeared legitimate and allowed them to travel undetected in armored vehicles and carry weapons.

Petro, himself a former leftist guerrilla, has cast doubt on the veracity of the Caracol revelations.

On Monday, he claimed that the source of Caracol's reporting was the CIA, referring to the administration of US President Donald Trump, with whom he has repeatedly crossed swords.

The two accused, who deny the allegations, are being investigated both by the attorney general's office and the ministry of defense.

B.Shevchenko--BTB