Scandal in Colombia grows

The scandal involving alleged links between Colombian lawmakers and illegal paramilitary groups widened Thursday with the arrest of five more members of Congress, including a senator who is the brother of Foreign Minister Maria Consuelo Araujo.

The arrests of Sen. Alvaro Araujo and the others could further tarnish President Alvaro Uribe, who since being reelected to a second term in a landslide last year has been rocked by allegations that some close legislative supporters have ties to the right-wing armies. The arrests are also bound to increase calls that Maria Araujo resign.

The others arrested were Sens. Dieb Maloof, Mauricio Pimiento and Luis Eduardo Vives, and Rep. Alfonso Campo Escobar. Rep. Jorge Luis Caballero was still at large.

The orders were issued by the Supreme Court, which handles criminal investigations involving members of Congress. All those arrested are staunch Uribe supporters.

No specific charges were revealed Thursday night, although a spokesman for the attorney general’s office confirmed that the arrests had been made. Without offering details, a Supreme Court source said the charges were related to illegal dealings with the paramilitary groups.

Further complicating Foreign Minister Araujo’s situation was the revelation Thursday that her cousin, Gov. Hernando Molina of the northern province of Cesar, is also under investigation in connection with alleged dealings with the paramilitaries, including illegal campaign financing.

When Sen. Araujo acknowledged in November that he was the subject of an inquiry, Uribe rebuffed calls that he fire his minister to eliminate a possible taint.

In November, four other sitting or former Congress members were arrested and charged with criminal involvement with paramilitary groups, including authorizing mass murder and government corruption.

Some of those arrested are among lawmakers alleged to have signed a document in 2001 pledging support to paramilitary groups to “remake the nation.”

Ranchers and farmers formed the paramilitaries in the 1980s to defend themselves against left-wing guerrillas. But in many cases, the groups evolved into criminal organizations that engaged in drug trafficking, killing, extortion and land grabs.

Uribe has been hurt by revelations that some paramilitary leaders have continued to run their criminal empires from jail since demobilizing and pleading guilty in exchange for lighter sentences. Investigations in some cases have confirmed that politicians at the local and national levels who support Uribe were complicit in militia crimes.

chris.kraul@latimes.com

Times researcher Jenny Carolina Gonzalez contributed to this report.