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  $2 Million in US Aid Is Missing From Police Fund
Posted by CN Staff on May 10, 2002 at 22:42:49 PT
By Juan Ferero 
Source: New York Times 

justice The official in charge of antinarcotics efforts for the National Police, Gen. Gustavo Socha, was removed from his job today after $2 million in United States funds was reported missing from a special police administrative account.

Six police officers — two colonels, two majors and two captains — have also been fired, top police officials announced today, in a scandal that prompted Washington to suspend a small portion of its aid for Colombia's drug-eradication efforts.

An official at the United States Embassy confirmed that as many as 20 police officers may have been pocketing money from the account, which has been frozen since the malfeasance was discovered by American officials two months ago.

Although no one has been charged, the Colombian attorney general's office opened a criminal investigation into the case today, said Alvaro Ayala, a spokesman in that office. "We are calling for all those who handled the funds to give declarations," Mr. Ayala said.

The loss of the funds, which was first reported Thursday in the Bogotá daily El Tiempo, is an embarrassment for a police agency that has been a close partner in Washington's efforts to curtail Colombia's burgeoning drug trade. The police operate aircraft that fumigate drug crops, carry out search-and-destroy operations of cocaine processing labs and arrest drug traffickers.

The scandal comes as the Bush administration is prodding Capitol Hill to widen American funding beyond operations against narcotics traffickers and help Colombia's beleaguered government fight leftist rebels. The guerrillas generate revenues to finance their war against the state from the drug trade.

Since 2000, the National Police have received $146 million as part of Plan Colombia, a huge $1.1 billion aid package. The money that was stolen, which is considered part of the Plan Colombia allocation, came from a $4 million account.

American officials expressed confidence that the Colombian government would take the appropriate action against those involved in the diversion of funds. In a statement, the embassy said that "this type of incident can happen in any organization," adding that Washington's confidence in the force remained "unshaken."

Police officials, including General Socha, also tried to cast the problem as a procedural slip-up.

An official at the American Embassy noted, however, that the United States considers the diversion of funds a criminal matter. "What we're talking about here is malfeasance and not an administrative error," the official said. "We believe that the money was taken for personal ends."

General Socha, who has been popular with American and Colombian officials for his dogged efforts to destroy drug crops, was not involved in the theft, said Gen. Ernesto Gilibert, the top commander of the National Police. Speaking at a news conference today, he said he was reassigning General Socha to a unit that provides security for public figures "to give more transparency" to the investigation.

He named Jorge Enrique Linares, who has been operations director for the National Police, to take over as chief of the antinarcotics section.

American officials today denied local press reports that the missing funds had prompted Washington to ground 33 UH-1N helicopters that the Colombian Army uses to move troops on antinarcotics missions and occasionally to escort aircraft that fumigate drug crops.

Complete Title: $2 Million in U.S. Aid Is Missing From Colombian Police Fund

Source: New York Times (NY)
Author: Juan Ferero
Published: May 11, 2002
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/

Related Articles & Web Site:

Colombia Drug War News
http://freedomtoexhale.com/colombia.htm

Drug Officer Removed as U.S. Aid Vanishes
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12804.shtml

Colombia Anti-Drug Police Chief Dumped
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12803.shtml

Portion of U.S. Aid to Colombia Disappears
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12790.shtml


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