Colombia’s ambassador to the U.S. Carolina Barco sent a letter to The Washington Post, expressing concern over an article the U.S. news source published alleging that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s younger brother, Santiago Uribe, led a paramilitary death squad in the early 1990s.
In the letter, Barco identifies a number of “inaccuracies” in the article, in which former Colombian police major Juan Carlos Meneses claims that Santiago Uribe led “Los Doce Apostoles.”
The ambassador calls the use of the phrase “Death squads” in the article’s headline “incendiary” and says the content of the article is “without basis” and is “biased.”
Barco expresses surprise that the article fails to mention Meneses had been investigated for “irregularities” during his time in the Colombian police force, and that he has been linked to a criminal organization that attempted to bribe retired Colonel Pedro Manuel Benavides to sully the Uribes’ name.
Barco stresses that allegations against Santiago Uribe have been “completely investigated” and “rejected” by both Colombian congress and the court.
Santiago Uribe has denied the allegations, which according to Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva, are part of a Venezuelan plot to undermine Colombia’s government.