[JURIST] Authorities in Colombia [JURIST news archive] Thursday arrested a former intelligence chief on charges of murder and conspiracy for allegedly contracting with illegal paramilitary groups [JURIST news archive] to assassinate political opponents, including human rights activists [JURIST report] and union leaders. Jorge Noguera [CIP backgrounder] ran the Department of Administrative Security [official website, in Spanish] until he resigned [BBC report] in October 2005 after he was tape-recorded while discussing plans to sell intelligence to paramilitary groups. Several of the people on Noguera's hit list were later killed, including university professor Alfredo Correa de Andreis [Amnesty International backgrounder], who was investigating the paramilitary groups at the time of his death in 2004 [protest letter, American Anthropological Association].

Noguera was arrested while testifying to prosecutors. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison. He denies all charges. AP has more.