Colombian ambassador to Washington resigns over land theft scandal
Jul 23, 2013
Colombian ambassador to Washington resigns over land theft scandal
posted by Marcus Sales
Colombia’s ambassador in Washington resigned after being implicated in an alleged case of land theft, President Juan Manuel Santos said Tuesday.
The ambassador, Carlos Urrutia, was involved in an ongoing scandal in which he continually faced questions regarding his involvement in the appropriation of some 100,000 acres of land throughout central Colombia.
In his resignation letter, Urrutia defended the legality of his actions.
“I trust the legality of the legal argument that support the acquisitions. Unfortunately the political discussion has focused more on the background and there is resistance to hearing legal reasons that conclude the acquisitions were executed under the rule of law.”
Prior to his role as ambassador Urrutia was a major shareholder of the law firm Brigard & Urrutia. According to Senator Robledo, a vocal opponent of the ambassador, Brigard and Urrutia fraudulently helped multinationals acquire ownership of approximately 100,000 acres of land throughout Colombia.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-ambassador-to-the-us-resigns/
