Colombian Police
Director Does Not
Believe Couple's Claim
of Innocence Over Rebel
Cash Found In Their Home
"No one hands over $500
thousand without prior
trust" was the headline
in the Spanish language
daily, Al Día, referring
to the cash stash found
in the house of
Francisco Gutiérrez
Pérez and his wife, Cruz
Prado Rojas, who claim
total innocence about
the money and their
relationship with the
members of the Colombian
rebel group the FARC.
In a press conference
earlier this week, the
couple, said that they
had no idea that the
us$480.000 dollars
stashed in a safe in
their home in Santa
Barabara de Hereida and
that the men that left
it there were
revulotionary members of
the Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de
Colombia (FARC).
The director of the
Policía Nacional de
Colombia (Colombian
national police),
general Óscar Naranjo,
said that one hands over
that kind of money and
gives broad power of
attorney, if there isn't
any prior trust and
maintained over time.
The director made his
comments over a
telephone interview with
the daily.
Naranjo added that be
believes the Colombian
Fiscalía (prosecutor's
office) will be
conducting a full
investigation into ties
between Costa Ricans and
the Colombian rebels.
"I have to suppose that
the ties will surely
generate an
investigation and will
be part of due process",
said Naranjo.
Cruz Prado said on
Tuesday that she was
doing "a favour" to the
men who represented
themselves as being in
Costa Rica to negotiate
peace in Colombia, with
the help of Costa Rican
officials, and that the
safe contained documents
being used in the
negotiations and was
given power of attorney
without knowing the real
name of the man who is
learned to be Granda, a
high ranking FARC
official.
However, in documents
dated December 16, 1997,
Granda was identified by
his real name.
Cruz Prado claims never
to have read the
contents of the document
given to her.
The cash was found after
Colombian officials
found an email in the
personal computer of
FARC number 2 man, Raúl
Reyes, killed by the
Colombian military on
March 01.
Prado admitted to
hosting Reyes and his
wife, Liliana López
Palacio, for at least a
week in their at the end
of the 1990's, saying
that at the time she did
not know that the man
was Reyes.
The ministro de
Seguridad Pública,
Fernando Berrocal, said
after the raid on the
Heredia home that there
is evidence of Costa
Rican politicians with
ties to Reyes and the
FARC, however, he
refused to name names.
For the time being
authorities have not
taken any action against
the couple. |
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