VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #1401 3551915
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211915Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1493
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7328
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 8539
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 4601
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 9845
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 5259
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS BOGOTA 011401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KJUS PHUM PINR PINS PREF PREL CO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT URIBE BACKS COURTS--AND PROVIDES 
RESOURCES--IN PARAMILITARY-POLITICAL INVESTIGATIONS 
 
REF: BOGOTA 10976 AND PREVIOUS 
 
President Backs Courts--and Provides Resources 
============================================= == 
¶1.  On December 20, at President Uribe's initiative, he and 
leaders from the Colombian Judicial branch agreed to create a 
special investigative unit within the Supreme Court to 
investigate political connections to ex-paramilitaries, and 
other allegations against government officials.  Uribe 
promised to provide 18 assistants and investigators to the 
Court's penal division charged with judging members of 
Congress and other public officials.   Three Congressmen have 
been indicted for paramilitary connections, six more have 
been called before the court to testify, and more cases are 
expected (reftel).  The Court has 150 investigations underway 
involving members of government or Congress.  Judicial 
officials tell us this will give them an important tool to 
move ahead on the most important investigations. 
 
 
GoC Wants Story Out 
=================== 
¶2.  President Uribe wants to get to the truth about the 
paramilitary-political scandal and other cases of official 
misconduct.  His initiative to provide the court with an 
independent--and unprecedented--investigative unit to augment 
existing investigatory assets in the executive branch is more 
proof that the president fully supports the institutions 
responsible for finding, and acting on, the truth. 
WOOD 

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