Colombian govt $pectacularly corrupt? $ay it ain't $o!

Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit


Colombian government officials?  Spectacularly corrupt?  
Say it ain't so!

Oops-a-daisy.  They're admitting that at least $2 million of the dough
from Unca Sam to buy new toys for the Colombian "anti-drug" program
has gone missing, and that's not going to be the end of the tale. 
This graft has apparently been top-down, too.

Wonder which all Federally controlled substances are popular at the
parties thrown by the "anti-drug" elite in Colombia?


AP via The New York Times - June 11, 2002
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Colombia-US-Scandal.html

$2M in U.S. Aid to Colombia Missing

by The Associated Press

Filed at 8:28 p.m. ET

BOGOTA, Colombia, June 11 (AP)--The government is investigating 60
police officers, including top counterdrug commanders, in the
disappearance of more than $2 million in U.S. funds earmarked for the
war on drugs, officials said Tuesday.

The widening scandal threatens to undermine Washington's confidence
in Colombia's security forces, just as the Bush administration is
asking U.S. lawmakers to provide more than $500 million in additional
aid.

The list of police officers under "disciplinary investigation" by
the Colombian inspector-general's office reads like a Who's Who in
the Colombian police anti-drug operations.

The list includes Gen. Gustavo Socha, who resigned last month as
chief of the counternarcotics police; Col. Yadira Angelica Rivera, in
charge of international relations; Col. Carlos Julio Rivera; chief of
police aviation; and Col. Climaco Antonio Torres, chief of drug
interdiction.

Inspector-General Edgar Maya's office, responsible for investigating
wrongdoing by government officials, said the police were being
investigated for "presumed irregularities in the handling and
spending of money handed over by the government of the United
States."

Among alleged irregularities were double-billing and lack of
supervision and control in the handling of $2.5 million in U.S.
funds, the Inspector-General's office said in a statement.

"Furthermore, the alleged purchase of unauthorized goods and
services are being investigated," the statement said.

A U.S. Embassy official previously said some 20 police officers are
believed to have used "for personal ends" money that was for
administrative expenses and other items, including fuel for vehicles.

The announcement of the probe, the biggest scandal to hit the
Colombian police during President Andres Pastrana's administration,
comes as his elected successor, Alvaro Uribe, is about to travel to
the United States to appeal for more aid.

Relations between the U.S. Embassy and the counternarcotics police
have reportedly grown tense recently. The newsmagazine Semana
reported Monday that when U.S. auditors asked for an accounting of
the missing funds, Socha responded that the U.S. Embassy should
detail its own counternarcotics spending to him.

When he resigned, however, Socha told a press conference that he had
not been pressured to step down by U.S. officials, and that he felt
his relationship with the embassy was good.

U.S. officials here have characterized relations with Colombian law
enforcement as good, despite the scandal.

"We remain proud of our support for the Colombian counternarcotics
police and confident of the professionalism and dedication of the
vast majority of its members," a U.S. Embassy spokesman said. "The
deeds of a few individuals should not discredit an entire
institution."

The United States has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in
military hardware, including helicopters, and training to help
Colombia's security forces fight drug trafficking, which finances
rebels and right-wing paramilitaries who are fighting a war in this
South American country.

President Bush wants to expand that aid, and is asking Congress for
$133 million to help Colombia stop guerrilla attacks on an oil
pipeline, reduce kidnappings and rebuild bombed police stations
-- plus $439 million in longer-term aid.

 
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