Word: cartelism
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...MONTHS SINCE HE BECAME President, Ernesto Samper Pizano has dodged bullet after political bullet, each carrying accusations that his 1994 election campaign received millions of dollars in contributions from the Cali cocaine cartel. He has responded that if drug funds were accepted, it was without his knowledge. But last week the President's evasions were firmly contradicted: a former close associate charged that Samper was indeed aware of the cartel connection. Though many Colombians all along have believed that the Samper campaign had a Cali taint, the latest allegation stunned the country. As calls for the President's resignation mounted...
...Three of his 15 ministers resigned, as did five ambassadors. A group representing 15 influential business organizations suggested that he step down pending an investigation. By the end of the week, Santiago Medina, his former campaign treasurer who last year testified that the campaign received about $6 million from cartel leaders, claimed that Samper personally ordered the use of $400,000 of those funds for his election...
...imposed exile in Cuba. Raul was originally arrested for his alleged role in the murder of Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, secretary-general of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. But evidence has recently surfaced suggesting--although not yet proving--that he may have been linked with Garcia Abrego's gulf cartel. Perhaps most damning is the suspicion that when Salinas was President, Raul allegedly used his influence to grant favors to the gulf cartel...
...serious about cracking down on the drug trafficking in the country. It's playing rather differently here in Mexico, where many people think that this was forced on the Mexican government by the Americans. I don't think the arrest will dent the drug trade, however. Abrego's Gulf Cartel is essentially a family-run operation, and it is likely that one of his relatives will just step in and keep the operation going." The 51-year-old drug kingpin is said to run a $2 billion-a-year drug business, which also includes heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines...
...arrest of Gilberto Mora Mesa, the Cali cartel's alleged communications chief, allegedly establishes that the cocaine organization was spying on both the Colombian government and United States drug agents. But while Colombian authorities, namely embattled President Ernesto Samper, are blaming the cartel for the tapping, American officials believe blame lies elsewhere. "The American embassy is absolutely livid about this. They think the Colombian government is behind the taps," reports TIME's Elaine Shannon. "Pointing the finger at the cartel is seen as a desperate attempt by Samper to save his administration. He's terrified that the cartel's bookkeeper...