FBI to review evidence against ex-Colombian politician accused of own kidnapping

Voice recordings of the Colombian politician accused of plotting his own kidnapping will be sent to the FBI for analysis, Colombian sources reported Wednesday.

The story of Sigifredo Lopez’ release after seven years of kidnapping turned ugly last week when the former deputy was charged with arranging his own capture in 2002–along with his 11 colleagues, all of who were later killed by the FARC.

Colombian police seized video footage of alleged FARC members planning the kidnapping, in which a man–allegedly Lopez–shows a group of guerrillas how to access the Valle del Cauca legislature where Lopez and the 11 other deputies worked.

Colombian officials said they analyzed the video and audio clippings for months before charging Lopez, but the video only shows the man’s sillouted profile for just a few seconds. Lopez denies the charges.

The FBI agreed to conduct an independent analysis of the footage to see if the voice of the man instructing the guerrillas matches with other audio recordings of Lopez.

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