The current ombudsman of Bogota, Francisco Rojas Birry, has been accused of courting the support of paramilitaries in his 1998 senate election campaign, Caracol reported Thursday.
Rojas Birry, who is also presently under investigation for accepting bribes, was named by ex-paramilitary leader Jorge Ivan Laverde Zapata, alias “El Iguano,” during his testimony as part of the 2005 Justice and Peace Law, which offers reduced sentences to those who cooperate with the judicial process.
According to El Iguano whose original sentence of 40 years was reduced in December 2010 to just eight years, Rojas Birry requested the support of the AUC’s Pacifico Bloc, based in the Choco department, which El Iguano led at that time.
Rojas Birry, as well as former Piedepato mayoral candidate Angel Rubi Rivas, allegedly promised resources destined for the health sector to pay for the support of the AUC in their campaigns. He also bought paramilitary members gifts and attended AUC meetings, according to El Iguano.
Rivas eventually became mayor of Piedepato, Choco, although his incumbent rival Misael Soto Cordova was murdered at the hands of paramilitaries in 2001.
In the same testimony, El Iguano also accused former House Representative Edgar Ulises Torres and two former governors of receiving AUC support in their political aspirations.
The ex-AUC commander is due to give more evidence regarding the links between paramilitaries and politicians, after which the National Directorate of Prosecution will order the appropriate investigations.