Colombian army used US funds to spy on us, opposition senators say

WASHINGTON: Colombia’s army used American foreign aid money for an illegal domestic spying programme that targeted lawmakers and other public figures, two opposition senators who say they were victims of the espionage have told US congress.

The complaint comes after evidence that military agents had illegally eavesdropped on congressmen, journalists and judges was published this week in local news magazine Semana.

“They had resources from the United States in terms of technology and money,” Colombian senator Ivan Cepeda told reporters on Friday, after meeting with members of the House Foreign Relations Committee in Washington.

“Why is taxpayer money being used for criminal work in Colombia?” he added.

Both he and fellow lawmaker Roy Barreras are members of the Colombian Senate’s peace commission and advocates of the country’s peace process with former rebels from the FARC militant group, which signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 2016 after a deadly insurgency that spanned decades.

Colombian President Ivan Duque was elected in 2018 on a platform of opposing the ceasefire accord, which he considers too lenient on ex-fighters guilty of serious crimes.

Barreras told reporters that the espionage programme was part of a strategy of “intimidation”.

Cepeda and Barreras met with members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) later on Friday to seek protection measures in the wake of the spying claims.