Colombian drug enforcement agency to be dissolved in July: Govt

Colombia’s corrupt drug enforcement agency (DNE) is to be dissolved from July 1, announced interior and justice minister Tuesday.

Interior and Justice Minister German Vargas Lleras said that it is expected that by next month a decree will be issued to dissolve the entity.

“It is hoped that the coming July 1, under the special powers granted by Congress to President Juan Manuel Santos, he will be able to proceed with the process of dissolving of the DNE,” said the minister.

After the dissolution of the DNE, the administration of the seized assets from narco-traffickers will move to the hands of the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance will then determine to which other government entities the assets will be sent.

Vargas said that the DNE was “an unmanageable entity with an obsolete structure.” The DNE was taken over by the government in November 2010 and in April the government made the decision to dismantle the agency.

Many employees of DNE, as well as current and former politicians, are being investigated for corruption relating to the misuse of seized assets.