Word: colombia
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Alfonsín has yet to produce his long-promised strategy for curbing inflation or for negotiating with the International Monetary Fund a restructuring of the country's foreign loan obligations (although last week Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico were reported to be discussing in general terms various proposals for repaying their debts after a grace period that has yet to be determined). Instead, his administration seemed at first to neglect economic concerns in order to concentrate on human rights and labor issues. One of Alfonsín's first official acts was to sign decrees accusing...
Speculation about a possible Latin American debtors' cartel that would try to dictate new loan terms to bankers has added to the jitters. In a joint statement last week, the Presidents of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia complained that the interest rates they are being charged have reached intolerable levels. Said the four: "We do not accept seeing ourselves forced into a situation of insolvency and continuous economic crisis." While some American bankers insist that the formation of a cartel is unlikely, other moneymen remain fearful...
...being waged not only in the countryside, where marijuana and cocaine are grown and processed, but also inside Colombia's corrupt bureaucracy. After Lara's funeral, Betancur declared a nationwide state of emergency, giving the army a free hand to arrest suspects without a warrant and try them in military courts. Hundreds of people have been detained so far. About 400 judges accused of handling narcotics cases improperly will be removed, as well as 280 members of the national police force who have allegedly accepted bribes from the Colombian mafia...
Meanwhile, the man most wanted by Colombian authorities is Pablo Escobar, 34, a prime suspect in the Lara killing. Escobar is believed to have united the 15 or so families that control the bulk of Colombia's drug industry into a consortium. This organization, known as the Medellin Mafia, directs most of the nation's narcotics operations, from the processing of coca leaves into paste, much of which is imported from Bolivia and Peru, to the marketing of cocaine and marijuana in the U.S. According to Colombian police, Escobar's personal holdings include at least 15 airplanes...
Many Colombians doubt whether the government will be able to sustain its crackdown for very long. They fear that once the state of emergency is lifted, the drug traders will be back in business. However, John Phelps, a U.S. drug-enforcement official in Colombia, believes that if the government's war on drug traffickers continues at its present pace, the mafia's ability to mass produce and distribute narcotics will be crippled. Certainly, President Betancur has much of the population behind his efforts to stamp out the drug trade. A Colombian woman may have best expressed the attitude...