“Colombia’s Inspector General on May 2 issued a decision holding the National Army responsible for illegal profiling and surveillance of journalists in the case known as Secret Files (Carpetas Secretas in Spanish). The ruling confirms the responsibility of nine Army members assigned to various military intelligence units within the First Military Intelligence Brigade. They were found to have committed a serious disciplinary offense by ordering, coordinating and carrying out unsupported open-source intelligence activities targeting journalists, in violation of constitutional guarantees and fundamental rights.
The Inspector General’s five-year investigation began after Semana magazine published the Secret Files in May 2020, which exposed evidence implicating personnel from the Military Cyberintelligence Battalion in illegal monitoring, profiling and data collection against 130 individuals—at least 30 of them journalists.
Those found responsible were sanctioned with suspensions from their positions and barred from holding public office from three to six months.”
