Colombia Aide Leaves Washington
WASHINGTON — Colombian Justice Minister Monica de Greiff, a target of death threats from drug cartel leaders, left Washington on Thursday, ending a 13-day visit, a Colombian Embassy spokesman said.
The spokesman said that De Greiff left Washington for “some place in the United States” and will return to Colombia in a couple of days. The embassy said it will not divulge more detailed information for security reasons.
De Greiff, 32, had been in Washington seeking $19 million in new funding for a $5-million program to provide security to Colombian judges and courts, prime targets of drug cartels.
Reports from Bogota had said that De Greiff came to the United States amid threats against her and her family and that she had sought to resign. She later denied the reports and pledged to continue as justice minister.
Drug cartels in 1984 killed a Colombian justice minister, and in 1987, they wounded a former justice minister in an attempted assassination.
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