Maria del Pilar Hurtado, director of Colombia's DAS intelligence agency, resigned Oct. 23 following revelations her secret police had been spying on opposition Sen. Gustavo Petro, as part of a probe of his Polo Democrático party's supposed links to the FARC guerillas. President Álvaro Uribe accepted the director's resignation. Both Uribe and del Pilar deny the spying was undertaken on direct orders from the president. (Colombia Reports, Oct. 23)

Del Pilar Hurtado initially denied all accusations made by the Polo Democrático senator earlier this week, saying an unnamed underling had undertaken the probe unilaterally. Petro insists Uribe personally instructed the intelligence agency to investigate him. (Colombia Reports, Oct. 22)

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