Colombia re-arrests ex-spy chief

Mr Noguera quit in October but has denied any wrongdoing

The former head of the Colombian intelligence service, Jorge Noguera, has been re-arrested over his suspected links to death squads.

The ex-spy chief had been under house arrest since being granted a conditional release from jail in March.

He denies accusations of making resources of the intelligence services available to right-wing paramilitaries.

Mr Noguera resigned as head of Colombia's Administrative Security Department (DAS) in October 2006.

In March a judge ruled that he had been illegally detained a month earlier, because the chief prosecutor had not personally issued the warrant for his arrest.

Clampdown

He was arrested after being questioned about supplying the names of unionists and rights workers to right-wing militias. A number of people on the alleged hit-list were murdered.

Mr Noguera was a close ally of President Alvaro Uribe, who was re-elected last year and has been popular for reducing crime.

He has backed a clampdown on leftist militias and overseen the disbanding of thousands of right-wing paramilitaries.

The right-wing militias were formed in the 1980s to fight Marxist guerrillas but both sides have been involved in the cocaine trade.

Tens of thousands of civilians are known to have died in the 40-year conflict between the state and left-wing rebels.