Interpol turned down the request of an Ecuadorean judge to put
Colombia’s former Defense Minister, Juan Manuel Santos, on the
international police’s list of wanted persons, says the director of
Colombia’s intelligence DAS.
The request to arrest the official who ordered the March 1, 2008 attack on a FARC camp just across the border of Ecuador stirred up the conflict between the two neighboring countries.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe qualified the Ecuadorean request as an “attempted coup” by “terrorist allies” and extended the retired Minister’s diplomatic passport to assure Santos wouldn’t be arrested when leaving Colombia.
But according to DAS director Felipe Muñoz, the diplomatic protection is unnecessary as Interpol already turned down the request.
“The central office of Interpol informed the DAS that it has denied the request made to the Interpol office in Ecuador (…) considering it violated article three of the Interpol statutes, that say these notices can not be used for political, racial or dangerous matters,” Muñoz told Caracol Radio.
According to the intelligence chief, the former Minister can freely travel without fear to be arrested.