Colombia spy boss denied Panama refugee status

AS PANAMA struggles to cope with its own internal spying scandal, María del Pilar Hurtado, the former head of Colmombia’s spy team,DAS, who was granted asylum in Panama by the Martinelli administration, has suffered another setback.

She is accused of spying on opposition leaders, judges and journalists in Colombia and escaped to Panama at about the time that the Martinelli security bosses set up a snoop network of their own.
There are those who believe that her arrival was more than fortuitous.
Now her request to stay in Panama with refugee status has been rejected., Yaribeth Calvo, director of the National Office for the Care of Refugees, which assesses refugee claims told La Prensa that Hurtado, made the request during the last months of 2014.

“Requests cannot be evaluated overnight … they need a reasonable time for due process. The lady was not admitted to the program, “he said.

Last August, Panama refused an extradition request. ONPAR communicated its decision to the National Immigration Service directed by Javier Carrillo.
In July 2014 the Supreme Court revoked the territorial asylum granted to Hurtado in December 2010, when the country was ruled by President Ricardo Martinelli. with In the same month the government of Colombia requested Hurtado’s extradition. According to the country’s authorities she spied on Court judges, journalists, human rights activists and political opponents of Alvaro Uribe, president of Colombia. while Hurtado led the DAS.
Panama refused the extradition request, arguing that “the Panamanian laws and international conventions prevent extradition that has previously denied on the same grounds and for the same person”.