The Colombian army announced Wednesday that it will fire three high-ranking officials caught on tape celebrating at the wedding of a suspected drug trafficker more than five years ago.
“The rationale behind this decision is that they acted dishonorably and it is assumed that they [the officers] had information on the status of the persons who organized this event,” Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva explained.
“This assumption led us to conclude that it is inescapable, unavoidable, to ask them to step down,” Silva said.
The army officials implicated are Colombia’s military attache in Brazil Juan Carlos Castañeda, and Colonels Rodrigo Martinez Silva and David Betancourt Patiño. Betancourt’s brother, Carlos Betancourt, a retired colonel, is also implicated.
Colombian Armed Forces Commander Freddy Padilla announced Monday that he had received an anonymous package containing the video and photographs of the officials celebrating at Nestor “El Duro” Ramon Caro’s Medellin wedding on November 19, 2004.
El Duro is wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking. The North American nation has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He is believed to be hiding in Venezuela.
All four of the men have denied knowing that El Duro was suspected of illegal drug-trafficking at the time of the wedding.
Click here to see the footage.