[RSS][Colombia] FARC dissidents deny alleged links to Colombia military, intelligence

[RSS]

Representatives of FARC dissident group EMBF denied reports linking them to top officials in Colombia’s intelligence agency DNI and the National Army.

In a press statement, three of the EMBF’s negotiators in ongoing peace talks accused “journalists of [television network] Caracol” of “trying to stop the progress of the peace process” with the help of police officials.

In a 36-minute report, Caracol claimed to have evidence that would prove that the EMBF teamed up General Juan Miguel Huertas, the army’s personnel chief, and DNI intelligence director Wilmar Mejia to set up a private security firm in early 2024 when neither worked for any State authority.

The EMBF representatives said that their members’ contact with State officials “is strictly limited to the military and police observers at the peace table.”

The guerrillas accused Caracol of falsely accusing the EMBF of trying to use the peace talks to strengthen their position on the battle field and stressed that their recent growth happened during the administration of President Ivan Duque, an opponent of peace talks.

The allegations were made against two close allies of President Gustavo Petro, who said that the claims made by Caracol were “false.”

Petro stressed that Huertas and Mejia were involved in the vetting of the security forces, which caused animosity among officials who were denied promotion.

The scandal that erupted in response to the leaking of documents to Caracol triggered renewed investigations into the contents of computers, cell phones and memory sticks found during the arrest of EMBF commander “Calarca” last year.

These documents reportedly included military intelligence files on counterguerrilla operations and prosecution documents regarding plea bargains made with arrested members of the EMBF, one of four major guerrilla organizations formed in opposition to a peace process with the FARC that began in 2016.

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Source: https://colombiareports.com/farc-dissid ... elligence/