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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #7456 2911949
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181949Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9570
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7803
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 9433
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ OCT 8978
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 5526
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 0732
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 6164
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 4121
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS BOGOTA 007456 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREF PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: MAGDALENA GOVERNOR CONVICTED FOR PARAMILITARY TIES 
 
REF: BOGOTA 7240 
 
¶1.  Trino Luna Correa, Liberal party member and former 
governor of Magdalena, plead guilty to aggravated conspiracy 
(concierto para delinquir agravado) to commit crime due to 
his paramilitary ties on October 14.  Luna, who ran 
uncontested in 2003, was detained in March for ties to para 
leaders Rodrigo Tovar Pupo ("Jorge 40") and Hernan Giraldo. 
A Bogota judge sentenced Luna to 44 months in jail and fined 
him $250,000.  The sentencing range for "aggravated 
conspiracy" is 72-144 months, but the judge--in accordance 
with Colombian sentencing guidelines--reduced Luna's sentence 
due to: 1) his lack of a prior criminal record; 2) his crimes 
were not considered "aggravated circumstances" that caused 
excessive injury; 3) he voluntarily turned himself in to 
authorities; and 4) he plead guilty.  His time already served 
in prison will count towards the sentence. The sentence does 
not refer to his future eligibility to run for political 
office, but the Colombian Constitution bans individuals who 
serve prison time from holding office except in instances 
involving "political crimes." 
 
¶2.  The Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) confirmed it 
will not appeal the sentence and expressed satisfaction with 
the judge's decision.  Luna had resigned his post as governor 
to shift jurisdiction from the Supreme Court to the Fiscalia. 
 While permissible under Colombian law, Trina hoped he would 
receive more lenient treatment from local prosecutors and 
judges.  To insulate the case from political pressure, the 
Fiscalia asked for the case to be transferred to a 
specialized circuit judge in Bogota.  Former Congressman 
Alfonso Campo, also from Magdalena, has also plead guilty to 
aggravated conspiracy charges and is awaiting sentencing. 
 
¶3.  The Supreme Court is currently investigating 37 of 
Colombia's 268 legislators for links with former 
paramilitaries. Fourteen legislators are in jail, one a 
fugitive and twenty-two under formal investigation.  Per 
reftel, jailed politicians are pushing for a new law that 
would reduce or eliminate jail time for para politicians and 
allow them to continue in politics.  President Uribe has 
voiced interest in a bill that would make para-politicians 
sentences proportional to those received by paramilitary 
leaders, but has also insisted that any such law require 
para-politicans to serve jail time, tell the truth about 
their crimes, and be banned for life from politics. 
Brownfield