Former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe’s ex-chief of security allegedly ordered the forced disappearance of two human rights workers while working in Medellin, reported radio station Caracol Wednesday.
Retired general and former presidential chief of security Mauricio Santoyo has been accused during a debate in Congress of being part ofa criminal gang that operated for more than two decades. A full discussion of the allegations could not be held as the defense minister and the director of the police were not in attendance.
A spokeswoman for the families of the disappeared said that while at the head of the elite anti-extorion and kidnapping unit of the National Police in Medellin, Santoyo had ordered the disappearance of human rights workers, Angel Quintero and Claudia Monsalve.
According to the spokeswoman Santoyo illegally ordered the tapping of hundreds of phones and the forced disappearance of the two workers.
Santoyo is at the moment in a U.S. jail charged with helping now defunct paramilitary group the AUC thwart anti-trafficking efforts by the U.S. and Colombian governments.
Colombia’s chief prosecutor said on Monday that there is not yet sufficient evidence to request the extradition of the former security chief.
Santoyo is one of thousands of politicians, officials and businessmen who have been implicated in “parapolitics,” the seeking of political or economic benefits through ties with paramilitary groups.