Colombia-Drugs-Politics
4-4-1995
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) _ President Ernesto Samper denied Tuesday he was corrupted by the powerful Cali drug cartel, challenging his accusers to produce evidence instead of "slander and rumor."
Samper, damaged not only at home but also in Washington by accusations that his administration is linked to drug traffickers, called a press conference at the presidential palace to assert he has nothing to hide.
But he ignored a challenge by former President Misael Pastrana to swear publicly that his election campaign received no Cali cartel money or that he had met with cartel leaders. The cartel controls 80 percent of the world's cocaine market.
Samper defeated Pastrana's son, Andres, in presidential elections last June, one of the closest races in Colombian history.
Days after Samper's victory, tape recordings emerged with the voices of cartel leaders discussing having made contributions to Samper's campaign. But government investigators say the cassettes don't prove the president's campaign took drug money.
In an editorial in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Sen. Jesse Helms and William Bennett, former drug czar under President Bush, said there is "increasing evidence" that Samper has "ties to the drug cartels."
"All available evidence clearly indicates Colombia has totally capitulated to the drug lords," Helms and Bennett said.
Samper told reporters his public and private lives were "an open book" and said any citizen could investigate him before any tribunal "but only if it is based on evidence and proof, not slander and rumor."
But Samper's government has tried to discourage publication of embarrassing allegations about him.
Publication of a magazine containing an article linking Samper to drug traffickers has been delayed after an official from the president's office questioned publishers, said Maricio Vargas, director of the weekly newsmagazine Semana.
The article tells the story of "Maria," an alias for a woman who allegedly saw Samper receive $1 million from Cali cartel kingpins in 1989. The government has denied the accusation, and it has not been proven.
The government has apologized for delaying the article. Referring to the article, Samper asserted in his press conference that "my government is firmly committed to freedom of the press."
The government has accused La Prensa, a newspaper owned by the Pastrana family, of launching a "defamation campaign." La Prensa reported recently that the prosecutor's office has ignored evidence linking Samper's election campaign and other government officials to the Cali cartel.
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) _ President Ernesto Samper denied Tuesday he was corrupted by the powerful Cali drug cartel, challenging his accusers to produce evidence instead of "slander and rumor."
Samper, damaged not only at home but also in Washington by accusations that his administration is linked to drug traffickers, called a press conference at the presidential palace to assert he has nothing to hide.
But he ignored a challenge by former President Misael Pastrana to swear publicly that his election campaign received no Cali cartel money or that he had met with cartel leaders. The cartel controls 80 percent of the world's cocaine market.
Samper defeated Pastrana's son, Andres, in presidential elections last June, one of the closest races in Colombian history.
Days after Samper's victory, tape recordings emerged with the voices of cartel leaders discussing having made contributions to Samper's campaign. But government investigators say the cassettes don't prove the president's campaign took drug money.
In an editorial in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Sen. Jesse Helms and William Bennett, former drug czar under President Bush, said there is "increasing evidence" that Samper has "ties to the drug cartels."
"All available evidence clearly indicates Colombia has totally capitulated to the drug lords," Helms and Bennett said.
Samper told reporters his public and private lives were "an open book" and said any citizen could investigate him before any tribunal "but only if it is based on evidence and proof, not slander and rumor."
But Samper's government has tried to discourage publication of embarrassing allegations about him.
Publication of a magazine containing an article linking Samper to drug traffickers has been delayed after an official from the president's office questioned publishers, said Maricio Vargas, director of the weekly newsmagazine Semana.
The article tells the story of "Maria," an alias for a woman who allegedly saw Samper receive $1 million from Cali cartel kingpins in 1989. The government has denied the accusation, and it has not been proven.
The government has apologized for delaying the article. Referring to the article, Samper asserted in his press conference that "my government is firmly committed to freedom of the press."
The government has accused La Prensa, a newspaper owned by the Pastrana family, of launching a "defamation campaign." La Prensa reported recently that the prosecutor's office has ignored evidence linking Samper's election campaign and other government officials to the Cali cartel.
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