Operative Freed From Colombian Jail

German Said to Profit From Kidnap Ransoms

By Douglas Farah
Washington Post Foreign Service

A German intelligence operative who sought to broker a deal between the
government of Colombian President Ernesto Samper and the Cali cocaine cartel,
and who was charged with helping leftist guerrillas select kidnap victims and
arranging their release, has been freed from a Colombian prison, authorities
in that country said yesterday.

Werner Mauss and his wife, Michaela, were arrested Nov. 17. Mauss had 14
passports, a letter from the German Embassy saying he was on official
business, a satellite telephone equipped to use the Global Positioning
System, a satellite fax and a computer with sophisticated encryption
capability. Among the documents found at the time was a secret plan, designed
by Mauss and German intelligence czar Berd Schmidbauer and approved by
Samper, for an internationally backed peace settlement to end festering
conflicts with leftist guerrillas and the Cali cartel. The plan, which was
never implemented, called for the drug traffickers to keep 20 percent of
their multibilliondollar fortunes in exchange for going out of business.

But in addition to the peace initiative, Mauss was believed to be playing an
intricate game that allowed him to profit from both sides of the civil
conflict. He allegedly helped the guerrillas bargain higher ransoms for
hostages, then collected large commissions for himself when they were
released.

Mauss's arrest sent shock waves through Colombia and Germany. Schmidbauer,
under hostile questioning in the German Parliament, acknowledged that he had
participated in drawing up the peace plan, but denied any intention of
cutting a deal with the Cali cartel.

The discovery of the plan also enraged U.S. officials, who already had
accused Samper of taking $6 million from Cali cartel leaders for his 1994
presidential campaign. Mauss escorted Samper's protege Horacio Serpa to
Germany in July 1996 to discuss the peace plan with Schmidbauer.

"The Mausses are free, that's the most important thing . . . but they will
not leave Colombia because they want to clarify this case and fully show
their innocence to Colombian justice and to the public," Abraham Casallas,
their lawyer, told reporters in Medellin, Colombia.

But Mauss may never stand trial, which could prove embarrassing to both
Colombia and Germany. The German government has been pressuring to have him
deported to that country. And yesterday the regional head of Colombian
government intelligence in Medellin, Emilio Rojas, told reporters that as
soon as the Mausses' legal situation is cleared up they will be deported for
entering the country on false passports. The documents were issued by German
authorities who said the pair came to Colombia on a "humanitarian mission."

Mauss is formally charged with using false documents and personally
benefiting from a series of kidnappings carried out by the National
Liberation Army, a Marxist guerrilla group that garners much of its
operational money from kidnappings.

According to Colombian police, Mauss selected foreign targets for the ELN to
kidnap, then offered his services as an intermediary to obtain their freedom.
He is accused of helping set multimilliondollar ransoms and keeping millions
in commissions for himself.

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company