U.S. Embassy in Colombia Focus of Drug Inquiry

U.S. officials are investigating six to eight American Embassy employees and dependents in Colombia for possibly using the mission’s postal system to smuggle illegal drugs or other contraband to the United States, according to knowledgeable sources in Washington and Bogota.

The investigations began after the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division charged the wife of the Army officer in command of the U.S. military’s counter-drug efforts in Colombia with illegally shipping cocaine to the U.S. via the seldom-inspected government mail system.

The new inquiries were triggered during a follow-up review of embassy mailing records and have not yet led to criminal charges. But U.S. officials described the investigations as particularly embarrassing because Colombia produces 80% of the world’s cocaine and most of the $289 million in annual U.S. aid to the South American country goes to combat drug trafficking.

Officials in Washington said the expanded investigation has added to concern about the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia’s capital. The embassy already was under scrutiny because of what several officials described as a dangerous, bunker-style mentality that is hampering implementation of new policy initiatives.

Several officials went out of their way to praise Ambassador Curtis Kamman as an able career diplomat. But they said the embassy as a whole, grappling with growing security concerns from a Marxist-led guerrilla movement, often seemed paralyzed by internal disputes, interagency fighting and management problems.

It is unclear whether the individuals under investigation acted on their own or were involved in the previously disclosed case of Laurie Hiett, wife of U.S. Army Col. James Hiett. She is accused of sending at least six packages, each containing about 2.7 pounds of cocaine, estimated by U.S. officials to be worth $235,000.

James Hiett has been cleared of any knowledge of the scheme, U.S. military officials said.