Former Colombian Spy Chief Finds Asylum in Panama

Panama granted political asylum to a former head of Colombia’s secret police Friday.

Maria del Pilar Hurtado, head of the secret service Department of Administrative Security in 2007-2008, is under investigation for spying and illegally wiretapping judges, journalists, politicians and human rights activists opposed to then-President Alvaro Uribe.

She was granted asylum after “a careful analysis of the request … and the circumstances of reasonable fear for her personal security that prompted her to leave her country,” the Associated Press quoted the Panamanian Foreign Ministry as saying.

Six other high-ranking officials from the intelligence agency have also requested asylum, Colombian Minister of the Interior and Justice, German Vargas Lleras, said on Saturday.

Maria del Pilar Hurtado