The World : Colombia Fires 2,075 Police

Colombia’s national police announced that 2,075 officers have been fired, many for having links to drug traffickers. The firings came under an anti-corruption drive begun last February by Gen. Miguel Gomez Padilla, the national police chief. Gomez Padilla took over the top job in the 80,000-member force from a general who was forced out because of connections with drug traffickers. Meanwhile, Roman Catholic bishops issued a statement calling the murder of Bishop Jesus Emilio Jaramillo, reportedly kidnaped by leftist rebels, “vile, sacrilegious and pitiless.” His death was apparently not connected to the drug war.