One of the key entities of the Government that still lacks an assigned director by President Abelardo De La Espriella and is a fundamental piece to strengthen the country’s security and intelligence is the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI).
It is the powerful state body, known as the President’s Police, which handles information about national security risks –internal and external–, and during the previous four-year term had four directors, all former members of the M-19 guerrilla, and one of them a fugitive: Carlos Ramón Gonzáles.
Although there was no transition there either, EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit investigated and established that Abelardo De La Espriella’s government will find several surprises.
Transfers under scrutiny
The first is that the drone acquired in October 2023, for more than 9 billion pesos, initially did not operate and later, after a secret military operation in Catatumbo, suffered total loss.
One version indicates it was shot down because it was flying at a very low altitude. And the other version states that it literally burned while flying over several camps of the FARC dissidents, during an intelligence operation.
The fact is that EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit exclusively established that in mid-July the breach of the lucrative contract was declared and now they are waiting for the contractor Prime Comercializadora SAS, created in Bogotá, to respond for the device, as well as the supplier in Switzerland.
In fact, informed sources told this newspaper that it was decided to enforce the policy that covers the contract, but it must be determined whether it was an operational error or a technical failure.
In the tracking this newspaper did on the matter, it established that within a sector of the government itself, Petro was alerted that the supplier, a company created in February 2017, has 900 million pesos and reports income of 510 million pesos.
Also, after quoting the same device abroad, they found it for almost half the price it was bought for.
“There was a special commission that came in to verify the deal and there are many doubts about costs and operability,” explained a person close to the lucrative business.
EL TIEMPO contacted Juan Carlos Eraso Chaves, majority shareholder and legal representative of Prime Comercializadora SAS, who said that, since it is a contract with the DNI, it enjoys legal confidentiality.
Also, people close to the suppliers claim they will not answer to the country because they would have evidence of mishandling.
Reserved expenses
The drone purchase was made during the administration of Manuel Casanova and the declaration of breach was filed after René Guarín arrived at the entity.
“The latter (Guarín) also made two additional decisions when he arrived at the entity: to stop approaches with leaders of criminal groups and drug traffickers and the payment to human sources from the reserved expenses checkbook,” a government official from Petro’s administration who still remains in the Government told EL TIEMPO.
EL TIEMPO established that these two matters will also be reviewed by Abelardo De La Espriella’s government. Regarding reserved expenses, although in recent years this item was cut, up to 7 billion pesos were available in a single year.
And although some versions claim they were not executed 100 percent, payments were made to informants identified with codes who set up front companies and foundations to carry out intelligence and counterintelligence work; safe houses and even luxurious Airbnb apartments were enabled to shelter members of criminal groups.
One of the cases is that of Willington Henao, alias El Mocho Olmedo, leader of front 33 of the FARC dissidents, who stayed in an Airbnb in Chapinero for almost two months.
At the time it was known that, after his capture, he was notified that there was an extradition request against him by the United States, and later, instead of being sent to a cell, he was placed at the disposal of the DNI.
Also, tickets were paid for intelligence missions, even abroad, which the country still ignores.
And although former DNI members assured EL TIEMPO that the General Comptroller’s Office audited the reserved expenses item and found no irregularities, the version now circulating is that one of the leaders of the visit was offered support from the Petro government to nominate his name as comptroller general: “That is why it will be requested that the entire audit of the DNI’s reserved expenses be reviewed.”
Contacts in prisons
Besides Abelardo De La Espriella’s government, control agencies have also been monitoring the leak that former DNI members would be making to media about reserved meetings with drug traffickers and members of criminal structures that expose behaviors bordering on criminal.
EL TIEMPO revealed exclusively that one of those approaches, with Manuel Castañeda, alias el Narcochofer, became an investigation in the Prosecutor’s Office for an alleged ‘false positive’ regarding an alleged attack against President Gustavo Petro and his vice president Francia Márquez.
(Check here all the articles from EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit)
The information was provided by powerful drug traffickers Juan José Valencia Zuluaga, alias Falcon, and Andrés Mauricio Vélez Hernández, alias Fortuna.
“There are still many more audios left in the DNI offices of meetings with drug traffickers like alias J la Firma and Julio Lozano Pirateque, alias Patricia,” said an informed source.
The investigation is just beginning.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltiempo.com
@UinvestigativaET
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