The State Department and a one-time adviser to former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe are being pressed for information in a U.S. court case brought by families of death squad victims in the South American nation.
The victims’ relatives are suing an Alabama-based coal company that does business in Colombia for allegedly supporting the killers.
The families have subpoenaed the State Department for any information about the relationship between the death squads and Drummond Company Inc., which is headquartered in Birmingham. The company denies any wrongdoing.
Separately, former Uribe adviser Fabio Echeverri will be asked about any ties he may have had with executives of the Alabama company. The court handling the case sent the request for Echeverri’s testimony to judicial authorities in Colombia.