CIA Accused of Cover Up in Deaths of U.S. Civilians in Peru

The CIA was accused Wednesday of lying to Congress and covering up its role in the downing of a plane carrying Christian missionaries nine years ago over Peru, killing an American mother and her infant daughter, ABC News reported.

In April 2001, the Cessna with Jim and Veronica Bowers and their two children aboard was mistaken for a drug smuggling plane by the Peruvian Air Force, which was working with the CIA on an anti-narcotics mission. A Peruvian gunship fired on the small aircraft. It burst into flames but managed an emergency landing along a stretch of the Amazon River.

Veronica Bowers and her daughter were killed by gunfire. Jim Bowers and their 6-year-old son, Cory, survived, along with the pilot, Kevin Donaldson.

In the moments leading up to the crash, CIA operatives and Peruvian officials did not follow strict rules of engagement, ABC reported. The military pilots failed to identify the Cessna from its tail number and did not order the plane to follow them and land.

The CIA announced Wednesday its nine-year investigation found that 16 CIA employees should be disciplined, including the agent then in charge of counternarcotics. Many of the agents no longer work for the CIA.

"If there's ever an example of justice delayed, justice denied, this is it," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, (R-Mich.), ranking minority member of the House Intelligence Committee. "The [intelligence] community's performance in terms of accountability has been unacceptable. These were Americans that were killed with the help of their government, the community covered it up, they delayed investigating."

In a statement to ABC, a CIA spokesperson placed the blame for the incident on the Peruvian Air Force, and said the agency's own internal review had shown no evidence of a cover up.