Two senior officials suspended for alleged guerrilla infiltration in Colombian security

The Procuraduría (Public Ministry) of Colombia provisionally suspended this Thursday General Juan Miguel Huertas of the Army and Wilmar Mejía, a senior official of the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI), for their alleged involvement in the infiltration of FARC dissidents into State security agencies, according to official sources informed EFE. The regulatory body opened a preliminary investigation this week against both, after Noticias Caracol revealed alleged infiltrations by the Estado Mayor de los Bloques y Frentes (EMBF) dissident group in the Army and the DNI, accusations that Huertas and Mejía deny. The journalistic investigation obtained communications between the head of the EMBF, Alexander Díaz, alias Calarcá, and other guerrillas, in which Huertas and Mejía are mentioned, supposedly with the aim of creating a front security company that would allow the dissidents to move in armored vehicles and carry legal weapons when the peace dialogues failed.

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“The delegate prosecutor for these matters made a decision that we were waiting for, some evidence was missing and it has now arrived, General Huertas and official Mejía are provisionally suspended from their positions with immediate effect,” declared the Prosecutor, Gregorio Eljach, to Noticias Caracol. The official clarified that this decision “does not mean that his responsibility is being declared, but it is a step forward”. As explained, the suspension seeks to prevent those involved from interfering in the investigation, repeating the indicated conduct, or using their position to benefit themselves.

Initially, President Gustavo Petro downplayed the scandal arising from the journalistic investigation, which also revealed alleged support from dissident groups for his 2022 campaign, and attributed the “errors” of Noticias Caracol to CIA sources.

Later, however, the president ordered a forensic IT analysis of the chats of alias Calarcá, which allegedly show the infiltration of the FARC dissidents into the Army and the DNI. “According to that (the results of the forensic examination) I will make decisions, not before, because it is the truth that guides my decisions,” Petro assured. His Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez Suárez, had indicated that General Huertas would remain at the head of the Army Personnel Command while his alleged links with the dissident group led by alias Calarcá were verified or ruled out.