Former Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba warned the FARC about imminent military hostage rescues, the police say after investigating computers belonging to slain rebel commander “Mono Jojoy.”
The senator was barred from holding public office after the inspector general found her guilty of having ties to the FARC,
Newspaper El Tiempo on Monday reported it was given information about the documents from police sources.
In the reported documents, Cordoba is not referred to as “Teodora Bolivar,” which was allegedly her nickname in files found on computers belonging to “Raul Reyes,” the FARC commander killed in March 2008, but “Gaitan.”
According to the newspaper, the files show correspondence between several of the guerrillas’ bosses about Gaitan, who allegedly warned the FARC about imminent military operations to rescue hostages.
In one of the documents – dated September 14, 2008 – leaked by the police, FARC Commander “Ivan Marquez” writes that “Gaitan sent us the following: that the army is close to colonel Medietta [sic], close to La Clinica. They plan to get him out with force. They know the exact location.”
In another document, Marquez says that Gaitan assumes that one of the ringleaders of the FARC had contacted the Catholic church to surrender the captive security official.
Because the computers of Mono Jojoy entered a chain of custody immediately after being found, they will not be subject to discussions about whether or not their contents were altered and are admissible as evidence in court, police sources told El Tiempo.
Some of the documents on Mono Jojoy’s computers confirm accusations based on evidence found on the computers of “Raul Reyes,” whose computers failed to be legally secured on time and are controversial because authorities can not guarantee the content was not manipulated.
The content of the Mono Jojoy computers further complicate the legal situation of Cordoba, who is trying to recover her seat in the Senate. The Supreme Court is still investigating allegations that the former senator has ties to the guerrillas, but said it has not enough evidence to prosecute her with the contents found on the computers of Raul Reyes.
Cordoba is one of Colombia’s most controversial senators. In 2009 she was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for her mediation in Colombia’s armed conflict and work she had done to free the country’s hostages. However, the former senator has frequently been accused of aiding the FARC.
