Hector Perez

By Hector Perez

 

BOGOTÁ—A Colombian prosecutor has ordered an investigation of ex-president and current senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez for his possible involvement in the alleged psychological torture of journalist Claudia Julieta Duque.

 

Duque filed charges against Colombia’s now defunct Administrative Department of Security, or DAS for short, in 2004 after receiving numerous threats tied to her investigation of the murder of journalist and comedian Jaime Gárzon. The prosecutor also indicted four high-ranking DAS ex-officers for psychological torture. Duque reacted on Twitter as soon as news of the announcement broke.

 

“The joy is enormous, although I haven’t stopped crying since I heard the news,” said Duque of the prosecutor’s announcement. “We’re advancing toward justice in a country filled with impunity.”

 

Uribe’s investigation stems from his perceived involvement in the DAS’ “Transmilenio” operation, which allegedly targeted non-governmental organizations and sought to intimidate those who denounced actions that differed from the government’s rhetoric. According to Noticias Uno Colombia, a former DAS intelligence official testified that Uribe directly ordered that the operation be carried out against Duque.

 

The threats began shortly after Duque uncovered clues that linked government officials to the murder of comedian and journalist Jaime Gárzon in 1999. She first brought her case to the courts in 2001 after being kidnapped and threatened. She was forced to leave Colombia that same year and again in 2004 and 2008 after suffering continued harassment—phone calls, messages, and grotesque threats against herself and her daughter. Duque spoke about one of these threats in a 2012 interview.

 

“They called me on November 17 of 2004 at 7:52 at night. It lasted 46 seconds and destroyed all my possibilities of resistance,” said Duque. “Never, until today, have I been capable of talking about what that death threat meant.”

 

Duque also spoke of the DAS’ alleged abuses during her testimony before Colombia’s supreme court earlier this year. As the Knight Center blog reported in April, she received more threats against her family and legal team just one month later.

 

The former agency has been swamped in controversy for years. By the time it was dissolved in 2011, former DAS director Jorge Noguera—who worked during Uribe’s tenure—had been sentenced to 25 years in jail for allowing paramilitary groups to infiltrate the agency. At least 20 other DAS officials have been jailed for other charges.

 

On his part, Uribe’s only acknowledgement of the prosecutor’s orders came via twitter.

 

“New accusations against me because I supposedly participated in the phone-torture of a member of an organization that supported the FARC,” said Uribe.

 

A formal response is expected in the coming days.