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PSYCHIC IN COLUMBIA PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE SPARKS OUTCRY -- PSYCHIC CAUSES SCANDAL FOR COLUMBIA PROSECUTOR |
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by Joshua Goodman The Shadow of the Dalai Lama, by Victor and Victoria Trimondi
Posted on Wed, Sep. 20, 2006 BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- Colombia's chief prosecutor hired a psychic who hypnotized his staff and even performed an exorcism over a voodoo doll in exchange for a government paycheck and use of an armored car. The ensuing scandal has mesmerized the nation. The federal prosecutor, Mario Iguarán, says he hired Armando Martí last year to help his stressed-out staff deal with a crushing caseload and to improve human relations. Martí, a self-described clairvoyant, claims to have implicated corrupt workers in illegal wiretaps and bribery during the months he spent roaming the prosecutor's heavily fortified bunker, hypnotizing officials and writing up classified reports for Iguarán about staff loyalty. He says workers confessed to deep secrets and ratted out colleagues as they stared into his eyes. The operation, according to leaked documents published by the newsweekly Semana, was code-named ``Mission Perseus of Zeus.'' The revelation that Martí was granted unfettered access has plunged into scandal one of Colombia's most respected institutions, an independent body responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes in a nation torn by decades of violent, drug-fueled conflict. In one incident, recounted by Marti to Semana, he performed a candlelit exorcism to neutralize a voodoo doll found stabbed with needles in the wastebasket of Iguaran's former top assistant. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Marti called the Semana article, titled "The Federal Prosecutor's Rasputin," accurate but sought to dispel the emphasis it placed on black magic. ``My work didn't consist of witchcraft or anything paranormal, but scientifically proven techniques to boost morale and release tension among the staff,'' he said. The fact that Marti rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful came as little surprise in Columbia. Posted on his Website -- before overloaded bandwidth took it offline -- are photos with a bevy of famous former clients, including President Alvaro Uribe. What scandalized Colombians were revelations that the federal prosecutor's office paid the psychic as much as $1,800 a month and authorized him to carry a pistol, an employee badge, and to ride around in a government-issued armored vehicle. ``I needed protection, not from outside the (federal prosecutor's) bunker, but from the internal divisions within,'' Martí told the AP. Martí said he became a confidante of Iguarán, one of the country's most trusted politicians, by helping him overcome marital problems. When the Dalai Lama visited Columbia in May, Marti arranged a private, two-hour meeting for the chief prosecutor with the Tibetan spiritual leader. On Monday, Iguarán delivered a televised apology to the nation for the ``unfortunate incident that began as something folksily quaint but that has now ended up affecting the institutional well-being of the federal prosecutor's office.'' He said he had ordered his office to terminate its contract with the consulting team to which Martí belongs. He also offered to cooperate with any congressional investigation. What remains unanswered is who leaked the embarrassing information -- and why. Iguarán has attributed the leak to "dark forces.'' His potential enemies include cocaine kingpins trying to prevent extradition to the United States and government officials accused of working on their behalf. Iguarán insists his relationship with Martí didn't affect his professional duty to uphold the law, but his loyalty to the psychic, even in the wake of the scandal, has left Colombia spellbound.
In an interview Monday evening, Iguarán said: `"I have to confess he was
my friend and as such I opened my hands, my house and my heart to him.''
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