Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe asked Mauricio Santoyo, his retired chief of security, to explain drug trafficking charges of drug trafficking made against him in the United States, local media reported Sunday.
Uribe said on Twitter that he hoped his former security chief and the National Police would explain the case. “I always respected the internal decisions of the police about my protection,” he wrote.
The US alleges Santoyo collaborated with Medellin-based crime syndicate Oficina de Envigado and paramilitary organization AUC between 2002 and 2008.
He was allegedly paid by both organizations to report on operations conducted against these groups.
The retired official, who so far has not commented on the case, was Uribe’s security chief between 2002 and 2006.