Colombia’s Fugitive Ex-Spy Chief to Surrender, Lawyer Says

[Judi Lynn]

Colombia’s Fugitive Ex-Spy Chief to Surrender, Lawyer Says
Caracas,
Saturday
January 31,2015

BOGOTA – Colombian former intelligence chief Maria del Pilar Hurtado, charged with illegal spying on journalists, judges and politicians, has decided to surrender after Interpol issued a Red Notice for her apprehension, her attorney said Friday.

“She says she is in Panama,” Jaime Camacho told Colombian media. “I talked with her and she said she intended to surrender to authorities, but I don’t have additional details.”

The attorney said he will seek an acquittal for Hurtado, who face charges for illegal surveillance while she led the now-defunct DAS intelligence agency during the 2002-2010 government of Alvaro Uribe.

Colombian authorities accuse Hurtado of aggravated criminal conspiracy, embezzlement, falsification of public documents, illegal surveillance of communications and abuse of authority.

More:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2371990&CategoryId=12393

[Eugene]

1. Panama kicks out ex-Colombian spy chief to face charges at home

Source: Reuters

Panama kicks out ex-Colombian spy chief to face charges at home

PANAMA CITY Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:20am EST

Reuters) - Panama on Saturday expelled a former Colombian intelligence chief, Maria del Pilar Hurtado, to face charges at home of illegally intercepting phone calls from opposition Colombian lawmakers.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that Hurtado had been handed over to Colombian authorities at Panama City airport and flown to Colombia in custody.

Just hours earlier Interpol had released an international arrest order for the former spy master.

Hurtado is accused of illegal violation of communications and abuse of public function between 2007 and 2009 while she was the head of the now-extinct Department of Administration and Security (DAS).

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/31/us-panama-colombia-idUSKBN0L40NY20150131

[Judi Lynn]

2. Colombian ex-spy chief Maria Hurtado appears in court

Colombian ex-spy chief Maria Hurtado appears in court
31 January 2015 Last updated at 19:08 ET



The former head of Colombia's secret police, Maria del Pilar Hurtado, has appeared in court in Bogota.

She was detained in Panama on Friday night after turning herself over to the authorities.

Ms Hurtado is facing charges of illegally spying on political opponents of the former Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe.

She fled Colombia in 2010 after the allegations were made public and was granted asylum in neighbouring Panama.

The decision caused outrage in Colombia, especially because of close links between Mr Uribe and the Panamanian president at the time, Ricardo Martinelli.

Last year the Panamanian Supreme Court revoked Ms Hurtado's asylum.

More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31076832

[Judi Lynn]

3. Former Colombian spy chief to face charges over phone tap scandal

Former Colombian spy chief to face charges over phone tap scandal
01/02 16:28 CET

The former head of Colombia’s intelligence agency, who fled to Panama in 2010, has surrendered to authorities to face charges of spying on opponents of former President Alvaro Uribe. On Saturday, a Colombian judge ordered Maria del Pilar Hurtado to be jailed at the chief prosecutor’s office pending trial. She was flown to Bogota after turning herself over to Panamanian authorities late on Friday.

Colombian Attorney General Eduardo Montealegre said an arrest warrant had been issued by a judge of the Superior Court of Bogota, several months ago.

The accusations against the spy chief threaten to further tarnish the legacy of Uribe, for years the United States’ staunchest ally in Latin America and credited with crushing leftist rebels once dominant across large swaths of the country. Hurtado has never implicated the former president in any wrongdoing.

As head of the now-defunct DAS (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad) spy agency, she oversaw a scandal-ridden institution whose agents seemed unrestrained in their use of illegal wiretaps to monitor politicians, human rights defenders, journalists and even Supreme Court justices who opposed the former conservative leader.

Dozens of DAS officials, including one of Hurtado’s predecessors, have been convicted of illegal spying and providing assistance to right-wing paramilitary death squads.

More:
http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/01/former-colombian-spy-chief-to-face-charges-over-phone-tap-scandal/