The World - News from Oct. 22, 1986

The Colombian government announced that it favors a plan to give a tax amnesty to cocaine traffickers if they pump millions of dollars earned from the drug trade into the economy. Finance Minister Cesar Gaviria said U.S. dollars obtained through drug dealing can now be legally brought into the country and exchanged for local currency at what is known as the “evil window” at the Colombian central bank. Gaviria told reporters that drug traffickers possess huge fortunes outside the country (up to $60 billion by some estimates) that could be incorporated into the local economy if the government would grant a tax amnesty.