A United States Court accused former general Mauricio Santoyo of helping drug cartels send cocaine shipments to Central America, Mexico and the US. Santoyo was also the head of an elite anti-terrorism unit and in charge of presidential security for former president Álvaro Uribe. If convicted, he will become the highest ranking Colombian official found guilty of narco-trafficking.
The story was first reported by El Tiempo, which received a copy of the indictment on June 16th.
The article states that United States officials had been gathering information against Santoyo for the past four years and then handed evidence over to Neil H. MacBride, a Virginia state prosecutor appointed by Obama to handle cases particularly relevant to national interests. The case had been kept confidential so that diplomatic relations between the US and Colombia were not jeopardized.
Santoyo is accused of accepting bribes and working with Colombian police to assure delivery of drugs. He has yet to deny the charges. The former Colombian president requested that Santoyo explain his connections to organized crime gangs and added that he always respected the decisions of his police force during his administration.
