EXCLUSIVE: Colombian prisoners strain D.C. Jail

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By Gary Emerling

Two of the District's top law enforcement officials are warning that dozens of federal prisoners with ties to Colombian rebel groups and international drug rings are a threat to security at the D.C. Jail and pose a risk of escape into the surrounding neighborhood.

The concerns have led city officials to ask the federal government for more money to provide security for the increasing numbers of prisoners, who are being held at the District's corrections campus in Southeast.

Devon Brown, director of the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC), outlined concerns about such prisoners in a U.S. District Court filing last month. The June 18 filing was part of a federal court battle over prisoner housing between the city and attorneys for a group of Colombian inmates indicted as being part of a cocaine ring.

Mr. Brown said an "unprecedented number" of city inmates - 60 in all - are thought to have ties to a Colombian drug organization.

Such prisoners must be kept separate from each other and "could easily use their skills and resources to coordinate unrest, violence or escape," Mr. Brown said.

Of the 60 inmates, at least 20 are thought to be members of paramilitary groups that include the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), both of which have been designated foreign terrorist organizations by the State Department.

D.C. Attorney General Peter J. Nickles confirmed that officials are concerned about possible dangers connected with housing the Colombian prisoners.

"I think it's the question of dealing with folks who are connected to a larger organization, which has money and has abilities to bring to bear at the institution activities that would pose security problems," Mr. Nickles said. "What started as a trickle has suddenly in the last few months become large enough that we've noticed it."

He also said officials have asked "appropriate federal authorities" to provide the funds to protect against security risks.

Colombian inmates recently sent to the city for prosecution include, according to court records, federal officials and news reports: