LEAK IN PARA-POLITICAL INVESTIGATION LEADS TO ONE

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