Colombia’s Prosecutor General is considering officially investigating Jose Obdulio Gaviria, until recently the personal adviser of President Alvaro Uribe, for his alleged role in the scandal involving the illegal wiretapping of government opponents, newspaper El Espectador reported Saturday.
According to testimonies by former counter-intelligence director of the DAS, Colombia’s intelligence service, Obdulio was informed in detail about the ongoing investigation against Supreme Court magistrates.
The investigation into the magistrates started when the DAS found out controversial businessman Ascencio Reyes seemed to be close to some of the Supreme Court’s magistrates and allegedly was also linked to drug organizations.
But after a while, the intelligence agency spent more time and manpower on the wiretapping and shadowing of magistrates than it did on the actual prime suspect. It is unclear to what extend the orders to focus more on the Court and less on the alleged criminal came from the Presidency and why the House of Representatives’ Accusation Commission, the only body allowed to investigate the judicial branch, was not informed on the suspicion.
The Prosecutor General is also investigating Press Secretary Cesar Mauricio Velasquez, the personal secretary of Uribe, Bernardo Moreno, presidential assistant Jorge Mario Eastman and three former DAS directors for the wiretapping.