COSTA RICA NEWS – The former director of Colombia’s now-defunct intelligence agency, DAS, did not flee to Costa Rica after learning her asylum in Panama was revoked, according to her lawyer.
Maria del Pilar Hurtado, who has been in exile since 2010 over wiretapping scandal, told her lawyer via her mobile Whatsapp account that she was in Panama and not in Costa Rica, Colombia’s Semana news magazine reported on Thursday.
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“Today, I casually communicated with her via Whatsapp to ask if she had confirmation of the news (…) She wrote that she remains in Panama,” said Hurtado’s lawyer, Jaime Camacho.
Hurtado lost her asylum status after Panama’s Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional last May.
It was inferred by Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office that the ex-spy chief then fled to Costa Rica; however, despite search efforts from Costa Rican authorities, Hurtado’s whereabouts remains unknown.
The former DAS director sought asylum in Panama after it was revealed she was implicated in a wiretapping scandal that spied on judges, activists, journalists, and opponents of Colombia’s former President Alvaro Uribe.
She was granted asylum in 2010 by former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who is a personal friend of Uribe.
However, under Panama’s new president, the country’s authorities examined the validity of the asylum which was repealed in July.
Sources: Today Colombia; Semana