DAS wiretap witness murdered

colombiareports.com

A former official at intelligence agency DAS, who was due to give evidence regarding illegal wiretapping carried out by the agency, was assassinated Thursday afternoon in Medellin, reports Caracol Radio.

David Antonio Ballen Garcia, a former DAS detective who left the agency three years ago, was shot by unknown gunmen on motorcycles while on his way to work, riding in a vehicle in the Patio Bonito area of El Poblado in Medellin. The driver of the vehicle and two other passengers, a woman and another former DAS employee, were injured.

Ballen Garcia appears on a list of witnesses made by the Prosecutor General's Office in the case of illegal wiretapping carried out by DAS against political opponents, journalists and human rights activists. He was allegedly about to supply key information in the case to authorities.

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DAS scandal 'worse than Watergate

colombiareports.com
"Far Worse than Watergate," a report by a group of U.S. NGOs, says that the scandal surrounding Colombian security agency DAS is "more shocking than initially reported," involving death threats and possibly the collaboration of presidential aides.

The report is a joint project by the U.S. Office on Colombia, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, the Center for International Policy and the Washington Office on Latin America.

According to a press release, it "reveals that the Watergate-like scandal in Colombia is even more shocking than initially reported, with the presidential intelligence agency, DAS, not only spying, but also carrying out dirty tricks and even death threats on major players in Colombia’s democracy."

Speaking about the report Kelly Nicholls, executive director of the U.S. Office on Colombia, said “This scandal is far more outrageous that we initially imagined. It includes spying in international territory, sending grotesque death threats, using blackmail, framing a journalist in a fabricated guerrilla video and conducting sabotage against Constitutional Court judges."

The press release goes on to say that "Far Worse than Watergate also details new evidence that shows that this illegal activity may have been carried out with orders from top presidential advisers."

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