Word: bogota
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...down by unidentified men, thought to be in the pay of the drug bosses, after he dismissed two judges and ordered the investigation of five other government officials. He had acted after a local judge released Jorge Luis Ochoa Vasquez, one of the cartel's five leaders, from a Bogota prison. Hoyos was the latest victim in a long list of Colombian officials and prominent citizens killed by the drug brigades. The roster includes a Justice Minister, 21 judges, scores of policemen and soldiers, a newspaper editor and more than a dozen other journalists...
...killers chose their moment well. Attorney General Carlos Hoyos Jimenez had just spent the week in Medellin, drug capital of Colombia, investigating the suspicious release from jail of Cocaine Cowboy Jorge Ochoa Vasquez. Hoyos was headed for the airport to return to Bogota. Suddenly, three jeeps and a car forced Hoyos' Mercedes off the road. Several men jumped out and sprayed the Attorney General's car with machine-gun fire, apparently wounding Hoyos and instantly killing his bodyguard and driver. Hoyos, his head bowed and bloody, was dragged from the vehicle and kidnaped. Hours later his bullet-riddled body...
Washington's drug war received a stunning setback two weeks ago when Colombian Billionaire Jorge Ochoa Vasquez, 38, a reputed drug baron, strolled out of Bogota's La Picota prison armed with a writ for his release signed by a Colombian judge. Ochoa's ruthlessness is legendary; after the coke magnate was arrested in 1984 in Spain at the DEA'S request, threats made against the lives of Americans residing in Bogota became so widespread that U.S. embassy children were evacuated. Extradited to Colombia in 1986 on a bull-smuggling charge, Ochoa was improperly released in August and eluded authorities...
Although U.S. officials still view the Bogota government as one of the more cooperative in the narcotics war, Ochoa's release and the Mexican government's continued foot dragging on the Camarena case illustrate the formidable difficulties of the campaign against Latin drug lords. Says DEA Chief Lawn: "Unless Colombia and Mexico can address their problems, there's no way we can deal with the supply of drugs within our own borders...
Precisely how Ochoa was sprung remains murky. One of his attorneys reportedly showed up at Bogota's La Picota prison with a writ for Ochoa's release signed by a Colombian judge. Given the overwhelming influence of drug lords in that country, the assumption was that Ochoa had either bought his way out of prison or had intimidated officials to ensure his freedom...