Colombian Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez on Monday defended his decision to ban Senator Piedad Cordoba from public office for 18 years for allegedly collaborating with the FARC, saying he “could not have acted otherwise.”
“I will absolve and sanction those who need it. I have done it, I am doing it and I will continue doing it,” Ordoñez said. “I am calm and confident that I could not have acted otherwise.”
Cordoba said that she believes Ordoñez lacks the “moral authority” to judge her because he is also currently under criminal investigation.
Ordoñez maintains that there was sufficient evidence against Cordoba to warrant the sanction, based on files allegedly found on computers of FARC commander “Raul Reyes,” the wiretapping of suspected guerrillas, and informants from within the FARC.
The senator was banned from serving in public office for “exceeding her functions as well as the authorization she was given by the government to negotiate a humanitarian exchange” when she was negotiating the release of hostages held captive by the FARC several years ago.
Cordoba said the Inspector General’s decision is “criminalizing humanitarian work,” and that she has only been working to achieve peace in the country. The Liberal senator said that she will take the necessary actions to prove that she is innocent of the “FARC-politics” allegations.
