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C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 001415 

SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KJUS CO
SUBJECT: DAS DOMESTIC SPYING SCANDAL DEEPENS 

REF: 09BOGOTA569 

Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer 
Reasons 1.4 (b and d) 

SUMMARY 
¶1. (C)  Colombia's leading newsweekly "Semana" broke new 
details on domestic spying by the Department of 
Administrative Security (DAS), alleging the DAS maintained an 
extensive illegal surveillance program against GOC opponents 
and Supreme Court magistrates.  "Semana" claims the DAS has 
had a unit dedicated to domestic spying since 2004, and also 
alleges high-ranking DAS officials met with top Uribe 
advisors Bernardo Moreno and Jose ObdulioGaviria to discuss 
sensitive cases.  The advisors deny such meetings, but we
have heard from numerous sources that Moreno and Gaviria
pushed the DAS to engage in political spying. Prosecutor 
General (Fiscal General) Mario Iguaran has vowed to get to 
the bottom of the scandal, but the GOC may use the selection 
of his replacement--Iguaran departs in July--to limit the 
investigation's scope. End Summary 

DAS REVELATIONS CONTINUE 
------------------------ 
¶2. (U) Leading newsweekly "Semana" broke new details on 
domestic spying by the Department of Administrative Security 
(DAS).  According to the April 27 article, the preliminary 
findings of investigations by CTI, the investigative unit of 
theFiscalia (Prosecutor General), and the Procuraduria
(Inspector General) suggest the DAS maintained a systematic 
surveillance program against GOC opponents--as well as some 
allies.  The surveillance was much more widespread than 
originally thought (ref A).  Citing anonymous Fiscalia
sources, "Semana" claims that in the last five years, the DAS 
monitored Vice President Santos, former President Gaviria, 
CNP Commander Naranjo, and former DAS head Penate--among 
others.  Fiscal General Mario Iguaran did not publicly 
confirm the details, but said the initial findings were 
worrying. 

¶3. (C)  CTI investigators reportedly found evidence that 
since 2004, the DAS had a unit dedicated to spying on groups 
and individuals considered a threat to the GOC.  Originally 
known as the "G-3" group, the unit did not officially exist 
and reported only to the DAS director or the deputies in 
charge of intelligence and counterintelligence. "Semana" 
reported that besides numerous leftist groups and 
politicians, the G-3 also collected information on Supreme 
and Constitutional Court magistrates, Colombian Army 
officials, and their relatives.  The unit was disbanded in 
late 2005 after a similar domestic spying scandal, but the 
article claims DAS continued domestic spying through the 
"National and International Group for Observation and 
Verification" (GONI) set up in 2006.  Local journalist Felix 
deBedout told us former DAS sub-director Jose Narvaez was 
behind the original domestic espionage operation and 
continued to control GONI after his departure from the DAS in 
¶2005. 

¶4. (C) "Semana" also alleges that former DAS deputy 
intelligence chief Fernando Tabares told investigators he and 
former DAS deputy chief of counterintelligence Jorge Lagos 
met several times with Presidential Secretary Bernardo Moreno 
and then-presidential advisor Jose ObdulioGaviria to discuss 
controversial spying cases. (NOTE: Both Tabares and Lagos 
resigned in the wake of the February scandal).  The meetings 
allegedly took place in the Casa de Narino.  Moreno publicly 
said he had spoken with Tabares once about routine DAS 
matters, but denied ever meeting Lagos.  Former DAS director 
Maria delPilarHurtado contradicted Moreno in a May 4th 
follow-up interview in "Semana," saying both Tabares and 
Lagos had discussed DAS business with Moreno in his office. 
For his part, Gaviria said Tabares was either lying or 
mistaken about the meetings.   Former DAS director Penate
told us in February that Moreno and Gaviria had pressured him 
to keep DAS involved in domestic espionage. 

WHO LET THE DAS OUT? 
-------------------- 
¶5. (U) Still, it is unclear who ultimately ordered the 
domestic surveillance.  The original article reports that 
Hurtado, who resigned last November in a related domestic
surveillance scandal, signed orders requesting sensitive 
financial information on Supreme Court justices and their 
families.  Mario Aranguren, who resigned last week as the 
head of the GOC's Financial Intelligence Unit (UIAF), told 
"Semana" that Lagos was the DAS official who had requested 
the financial information and that he notified Hurtado in 
writing every time the UIAF responded to Lagos requests. 

¶6.  (U)  Hurtado denied ordering any surveillance on Court 
members during her tenure, but said Moreno had asked the DAS 
to investigate a magistrate due to his alleged ties to 
narcotraffickers.  The investigation turned up nothing. 
Iguaran said the Fiscalia is committed to identifying those 
responsible ordering for the spying, adding that he is less 
interested in charging the low-level personnel who carried 
out the surveillance.  He signaled the Fiscalia is prepared 
to offer judicial benefits for those who provide information 
on the issue. 

¶7. (U) President Uribe has steadfastly denied any 
involvement, saying from Spain that the DAS scandal had 
become a "stain" on his democratic security policies.  Still, 
former President Gaviria strongly denounced Uribe over the 
scandal, citing what he called Uribe's failure to condemn the 
actions and asserting that the rule of law in Colombia has 
broken down.  Opposition Senator Gustavo Petro--a frequent 
target of DAS surveillance--directly accused Uribe of being 
responsible for the surveillance and said he and Senator 
Hector Eli Rojas would travel to Washington to file a 
complaint directly with OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel 
Insulza.

NEXT STEPS 
---------- 
¶8. (C) The CTI investigation leaked to "Semana" was only a 
preliminary report. Iguaran conceded that investigating those 
responsible will be a difficult task, but said he was 
determined to use his final three months in office to pursue 
theinvestigation.  Inspector General (Procurador) Alejandro 
Ordonez said his office had opened investigations on 16 
current or former DAS officials--including Hurtado, Tabares, 
and Lagos--based on the preliminary CTI report.  DAS director 
Felipe Munoz announced the closing of GONI and the dismissal 
of at least 33 DAS officials.  Few of these however, had 
anything to do with the domestic spying scandal, and it 
appears that the moment for Munoz to undertake serious 
structural reform at DAS has passed.  Bedout doubted the 
Fiscalia's investigation would go beyond Hurtado, noting that 
the GOC would use the choice of the next Fiscal to limit the 
investigation's scope.  Under the Constitution, the President 
submits three candidates to the Supreme Court, which then 
selects one to be the Fiscal. 
BROWNFIELD