Colombian authorities ratify destitution of Senator for ties with FARC

Colombian authorities ratify destitution of Senator for ties with FARC

2010-10-28 06:39:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (BNO NEWS) -- Colombian authorities on Wednesday ratified the destitution and disqualification from holding public office imposed on Senator Piedad Cordoba for her alleged ties with FARC rebels.

Cordoba was stripped from her Congress seat and disqualified from holding public office for 18 years on September 27. The Attorney General’s Office said that after reviewing the documents and the information received, the sanction was ratified.

"After the examination of the information gathered in the process and a series of significant, public events, it was concluded that Cordoba collaborated and promoted the FARC organization," the Attorney General’s Office said.

The information reviewed came from computer files seized by police forces that contained transcriptions between the Congresswoman and the former rebel leader known as Raul Reyes. The documents also contained conversations between FARC members mentioning Cordoba.

The documents were seized during a military operation called "Phoenix," that killed Raúl Reyes, the FARC number two. Senator Cordoba was known in the guerrilla circles as 'Teodora', 'Teodora de Bolivar', 'La Negra' and 'La negrita.'

Prosecutors alleged that Cordoba advised the guerrilla group not to send videos of kidnapped people, but to send voice recordings of them, to adopt a better strategy in pursuit of the guerrilla's objectives, as as well as promises of a closer cooperation to impose a new government through foreign support.

Cordoba was in charge of mediating between the Colombian government and the FARC militants. Authorities considered that she took advantage of her position and promoted the criminal organization. However, the former Senator was not charged with treason.

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