Pubdate: Tue, 19 Mar 2002
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2002 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Author: John Otis
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/colombia.htm (Colombia)

DRUG TRAFFIC STILL JAMS COLOMBIA

Slaying Of Archbishop Puts Risks Of Speaking Up Back In Spotlight

CALI, Colombia -- In the mid-1990s, President Ernesto Samper was nearly 
forced from office amid accusations that he had accepted $6 million in 
campaign donations from the Cali cocaine cartel.

The disgraced president managed to complete his term, and the scandal died 
down. But the killing of Archbishop Isaias Duarte last week has brought the 
issue of campaign finance -- and the risks of denouncing drug traffickers 
- -- back into the spotlight.

Duarte, 63, was shot down in the western city of Cali one month after 
claiming that area politicians were funding their campaigns for Congress 
with narco-dollars. Authorities speculate that Duarte may have been 
targeted by drug dealers in retaliation for his remarks.

"When you say you have evidence, you are putting a target on your chest," 
said Fernando Giraldo, a political analyst in Bogota, the Colombian 
capital. "The archbishop knew that (traffickers) could get him."

Duarte will be buried in Cali today following three days of mourning 
declared by city officials.

While some officials blame Marxist guerrillas or right-wing paramilitaries 
for Duarte's death, Attorney General Luis Camilo Osorio said Monday: "We 
continue to insist that (the killers) may have been people involved in drug 
trafficking."

If so, the outspoken clergyman may have sealed his fate Feb. 8. On that 
day, Duarte read a statement accusing unnamed politicians in Valle del 
Cauca state of accepting money from drug lords to finance their campaigns 
for the March 10 legislative elections.

"Valle del Cauca is once again feeling the weight of drug money," Duarte 
said. "We ask the people of Valle del Cauca not to be fooled and not to 
support those who, behind the facade of clean democratic politics, hide 
their corrupt drug money."

To many, Duarte was simply stating the obvious.

During the scandal-plagued Samper administration (from 1994-98), dozens of 
Valle del Cauca politicians were jailed for being on the take from drug 
lords. Despite legal measures to clean up the campaign finance system, 
experts say the new rules have had little impact.

Authorities broke up the Cali cartel in the mid-1990s, but smaller drug 
syndicates continue to traffic tons of cocaine and to influence local politics.

"The impact of drug money in this region is still very strong," said 
Hernando Llano, a political science professor at Javeriana University in 
Cali. "It's an undeniable truth."

Still, Duarte's words carried great moral weight since he had long been 
considered a fair-minded critic of Colombia's ills. He also persuaded 
others to speak out.

Following his remarks, Sen. Piedad Cordoba publicly accused four Valle del 
Cauca candidates of overspending on their campaigns and implied that they 
had received illicit funds.

"I think there should be an investigation to ask (them) where they get 
their money," Cordoba told the Cali newspaper El Pais shortly before 
election day. "People say that they are passing out money" to the voters.

The Cali Chamber of Commerce, along with two universities, invited all 112 
congressional candidates in Valle del Cauca to sign a petition pledging to 
run clean campaigns. But just 35 candidates did so.

"Fifty percent of the candidates had hot money," said Juan David Gallego, a 
Cali resident who spent $2,000 on his losing bid for a congressional seat. 
"They use it to pay for transportation for voters. They pay for food. They 
buy votes."

One way or another, most politicians exceed the $175,000 limit for senate 
candidates and the $120,000 cap for house candidates, said Giraldo, the 
political analyst.

Despite the glaring problems in the electoral system, the Bogota government 
challenged Duarte to prove his point.

President Andres Pastrana -- who wanted to preside over clean elections -- 
was irked by Duarte's remarks and asked why the archbishop refused to name 
the guilty politicians. "It's like throwing a stone and then hiding your 
hand," Pastrana said.

Duarte claimed that his information came from parish priests and local 
citizens. He added that it wasn't his job to accuse individuals and called 
on the government to probe the matter.

Others say that Duarte was trying to protect himself since it can be 
extremely dangerous to confront Colombia's drug cartels. The Cali newspaper 
El Pais sent five reporters to look into Duarte's accusations but came up 
empty since most of their sources were spooked.

"No one wanted to say anything," said Gerardo Quintero, an editor at El Pais.
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