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By Hugh BronsteinMon Jul 30, 3:50 PM ET
Cocaine smugglers and leftist rebels have infiltrated senior levels of the
Colombian army, impeding efforts at defeating the guerrillas and fighting
drugs, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday.
Colombia's largest rebel force and the country's main cocaine cartel have
bribed officials "at a high level" into sharing information that has helped
bosses of both illegal groups avoid capture, Santos told reporters.
Colombia remains the world's biggest exporter of cocaine despite billions of
dollars in mostly military aid from Washington aimed at stamping out the trade.
"Unfortunately, the infiltration has impeded us from capturing some of the big
fish we had been investigating," Santos said.
Some military officials have been captured in the case and more arrests were
expected, he said.
Earlier this month, the army discovered classified military information in
computer files of guerrillas from the FARC rebel group who died in combat with
state security forces. The information could only have come from a mole placed
highly in the military hierarchy, officials say.
Also implicated in the scandal is Diego Montoya, head of the Norte del Valle
cartel. Featured on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list, Montoya is accused of
exporting hundreds of tonnes of cocaine to the United States.
Investigators say he recruited army officers to provide him with protection and
help plan the breakout of his brother, Eugenio Montoya, who has been in a
high-security prison since the start of the year.
This Andean country is regularly jolted by revelations involving its
multibillion-dollar cocaine trade.
Last year, 10 anti-narcotics police were gunned down by Colombian soldiers in
the pay of drug traffickers near the western town of Jamundi, prosecutors
charge.
President Alvaro Uribe's international standing has been damaged by
investigations showing some of his closest allies in Congress were in the pay
of drug-running paramilitary militias formed in the 1980s to help rich
Colombians fight the rebels.
He remains popular at home for reducing urban crime and sparking economic
growth with his tough security policies.