Colombia’s DAS Carried Out “Political Warfare” Against Journalist Hollman Morris, Files Indicate

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield (Archive).

Today in Latin America

Top Story – Documents posted to the Center of International Policy’s “Plan Colombia and Beyond” blog indicate that the Department of Administrative Security in Colombia coordinated an attack of “political warfare” against independent journalist Hollman Morris.

The Colombian prosecutor’s office released documents from the country’s Department of Administrative Security (DAS, in Spanish; the Colombian equivalent of the FBI) to Morris, who gave them to the Center of International Policy and authorized their publication on the organization’s Web site.

The DAS’ tactics included the initiation of an “international smear campaign” involving “comuniqués,” “inclusion in a FARC video” and initiating the suspension of Morris’ U.S. visa, the documents show.

An investigation published by the Colombian weekly magazine Semana in February of last year revealed that the DAS had coordinated a series of illegal wiretaps of opposition politicians, human rights defenders, supreme court justices and journalists.

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield announced the suspension of financial aid to the DAS on Tuesday and said the money formally destined for the DAS would now go to Colombia’s police.

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Central America

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