A former Colombian general on trial for paramilitary ties testified on Wednesday that the death of a former secretary of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in 2006, which was believed to be an accident, was actually a murder.
Former General Rito Alejo del Rio said that he circumstances surrounding the death of Juan Pedro Moreno were very strange. Moreno served in Uribe’s government when the president was governor of the department of Antioquia.
Previously a supporter of Uribe’s presidency, Moreno’s death in a helicopter crash came at a time when he had decided against Uribe’s re-election and was running for the Senate as a Conservative Party member.
“He died in other circumstances, to me it wasn’t an accident,” Del Rio said.
General Rito Alejo Del Rio is currently on trial for alleged collaboration with paramilitaries committed while leading “Operation Genesis” against the FARC in the late nineties in Antioquia. Extradited paramilitary boss Salvatore Mancuso testified that Del Rio had collaborated with him, however the general maintains his innocence.