Retired General Mauricio Santoyo, who served as former President Alvaro Uribe‘s security chief, responded to drug trafficking charges filed by U.S. authorities Monday.
A Virginia court charged Santoyo with drug trafficking after the testimony of extradited paramilitary leaders Salvatore Mancuso and Carlos Mario Jimenez, alias “Macaco.” He was linked to the now-defunct paramilitary group, the AUC and Medellin-based crime syndicate Oficina de Envigado.
Uribe asked Sunday that Santoyo, who served in the former president’s cabinet between 2002 and 2006, explain the allegations against him.