Secret Meeting Sparks Inquiry

The "para-politics" scandal has raised questions about some aides of Colombian leader Álvaro Uribe, who was at the United Nations yesterday. (By Seth Wenig -- Associated Press)

Last week, the inspector general's office, which has been collecting evidence about the meeting, heard testimony from Edmundo Del Castillo, Uribe's legal adviser, and Velásquez, the presidential spokesman. The attorney general's office is also assigning a special prosecutor to investigate the case, which could lead to criminal charges.

Government officials have acknowledged that the president knew that Del Castillo was planning to meet with Diego Álvarez, a lawyer for Murillo, the paramilitary commander. Uribe said recently that the government was open to receiving "anyone who wants to give information about the manipulation of witnesses. We are not interested in entangling judges, but we are interested that investigations against crime be impartial and without the manipulation of witnesses."

At the time of the meeting, Murillo was looking for ways to avoid extradition to New York on cocaine-trafficking charges, officials in the court said. Álvarez told Del Castillo that he had tapes containing evidence of a possible plot by the Supreme Court against Uribe, participants close to the talks said in interviews.

Antonio "Job" López, who had participated in a government-run demobilization of paramilitary groups and was the spokesman for disarmed fighters, accompanied Álvarez to the meeting. But investigators and the security services said López remained steeped in cocaine trafficking and killings.

Also in attendance were a representative of the intelligence service; Óscar Iván Palacio, a close associate of Uribe's; and Juan José Chaux, a former governor and ambassador who has been accused by a top paramilitary commander of collaborating with the militias.

The tapes included recordings of the court's top investigator, Iván Velásquez, and others who participated in meetings with Murillo aimed at getting him to cooperate with the inquiry. Álvarez had also secretly recorded Henry Anaya, a lawyer who is close to court officials and has provided investigators with useful evidence.

"All this shows an effort against the court," Velásquez said.

Del Castillo did not return phone calls seeking comment. But in an interview with Colombia's La W Radio, he said that he coordinated the April meeting and that the president knew Álvarez was handing over "material that supposedly questioned the responsibility of some investigators of para-politics."

"I simply consulted with the president, and he told me, 'Receive the information,' " Del Castillo said last week.

César Mauricio Velásquez, the presidential spokesman, said, "The idea was to listen to some people who had information that was important for the government and the president."

In July, López, the demobilized paramilitary fighter, was killed by a hit man in Medellin -- a slaying that astonished government officials and has yet to be solved. Murillo was extradited in May and is in jail in New York. He has pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking charges and faces sentencing in December.

"All this reinforces the suspicion about a connection between some people close to Uribe and some very unsavory characters," said Michael Shifter, a senior analyst who tracks Colombia for the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy group in Washington. "It's sort of hard to explain why these practices and meetings continue, given the scrutiny that has been raised over time."