The Colombian Supreme Court Thursday found retired Navy Admiral Gabriel Arango Bacci innocent of ties to the paramilitary and drug traffickers, due to a lack of evidence.
The Court ordered the Prosecutor General to investigate the alleged false testimony supplied by witnesses in the case. Former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and current Navy Commander Guillermo Barrera are among the witnesses that will be investigated.
In 2008 a military tribunal found Bacci guilty of receiving US$115,000 for selling the coordinates of Navy patrols to drug traffickers, so that the traffickers could avoid authorities and safely transit drugs out of Colombia. Bacci requested a civil hearing before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court reprimanded the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield in November for what they termed “undue interference” in the case, after Bronwfield announced that there was clear evidence that linked the retired Admiral to drug traffickers.
The Supreme Court said that Brownfield had no jurisdiction to comment on matters of civil justice.
Bacci maintains his innocence and says he is the victim of a plot to discredit him.