The CIA was accused of lying to Congress and covering up its role in the deaths of two innocent Americans, a mother and her infant daughter, at the hands of the CIA and the Peruvian Air Force nine years ago.

“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.”

On April 20, 2001, Jim and Veronica “Roni” Bowers and their two children, six-year-old son Cory and infant daughter Charity, were returning to their home in Peru from a trip to Brazil in a small airplane piloted by Kevin Donaldson.

The Bowers’ worked as Christian missionaries along a stretch of the Amazon River near Iquitos, Peru, a remote jungle region near the Brazilian and Colombian borders heavily traveled by drug traffickers.

The CIA and the Peruvian Air Force were working in the same area, trying to interdict the drug smugglers. Starting in 1995, they’d operated a joint program to intercept drug planes, shooting them down if necessary.

For more, including a link to a CIA video, click here.