Colombia’s Defence Minister announced Monday that the government has allocated COP100 billion for reward payments for informers and collaborators in 2010.
The Minister, Gabriel Silva, stated that “all outstanding rewards … will be totally settled by December 31,” during a general government council held in the city of Medellin Monday, reported newspaper El Espectador Tuesday.
“We know there have been some setbacks and this has led to discouragement for certain informers and collaborators. Thus, we now have the commitment and financial resources to catch up,” explained Silva.
In response to Silva’s statements, President Alvaro Uribe urged the minister to fulfil his promises as he emphasized that the reward payment system was essential to the combat of crime and thus “sacred”.