Spy claims raised in Uruguay probe of ex-presidential guard

By GUILLERMO GARAT
Associated Press

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Two months into an investigation of alleged passport forgery involving the former security chief for Uruguay’s president, questions are expanding after a newspaper’s reports that prosecutors have also found evidence of political spying and blackmail against opposition politicians. Uruguay’s secretary of the presidency and the deputy secretary testified Tuesday to prosecutors in the forgery investigation of Alejandro Astesiano, who headed security for President Luis Lacalle Pou. That session came after 10 days of stories in the newspaper La Diaria outlining details on the purported political espionage that the newspaper says are contained in a cellphone and other digital devices obtained by prosecutors in the forgery probe.