14ymedio, Havana, 16 March 2019 — Colombian authorities, on Saturday, expelled José Manuel Peña García, a Cuban citizen who arrived in Venezuela in 2014 as a medical collaborator and who carried out espionage work in Colombia, according to intelligence sources in that South American country.
Peña was detained by Columbia’s Special Migration Units of Colombia for carrying out “espionage work at the Palanquero air base,” a strategic installation of the Colombian military forces located in Puerto Salgar, Cundinamarca.
The investigations confirmed that he belonged to the Cuban intelligence and he was arrested at 8:00 pm this Friday in the municipality of La Dorada, in Caldas, near the military installations. Members of the National Police participated in the operation.
“He monitored and informed on the operations and movements at the Palanquero base,” said a source close to the case. “He had equipment that allowed him to measure the dimensions of the planes and the weapons,” he added.
After his arrest, the Colombian authorities transferred the Cuban citizen to Bogotá immediately and from that city he was expelled to Havana in the early hours of this Saturday.
“This activity was carried out under Colombia Migration’s discretional powers to expel a foreigner from Columbia when they have information from a national or foreign authority that the person is carrying out activities that affect national security,” said sources from that organization.
Peña García arrived in Venezuela in 2014, in the middle of the exchange program for doctors between both countries. According to information obtained by the Colombian authorities, the Cuban served as a front to bring members from the island’s intelligence groups to the neighboring country.
In 2016, Peña García married a Colombian-Venezuelan citizen in Cuba, whom he met while living in Venezuela, and then both entered Colombia.
The expulsion measure prohibits Peña García from entering Colombian territory for a period of ten years.
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