Gunmen Wound Colombian President’s Lawyer

The lawyer defending President Ernesto Samper against accusations that his campaign was financed with drug money was wounded and two of his bodyguards were killed Wednesday by gunmen demanding the president’s resignation.

Antonio Cancino, 55, was shot three times, in the arm and hand, after dropping his son off at school about 7 a.m., police said. A third bodyguard was wounded. Four gunmen in a white van driving against traffic and firing automatic weapons attacked his motorcade, according to Colombian media.

No one has been arrested, but a group called “Movement for a Dignified Colombia” claimed responsibility for the incident.

“This is only the beginning of a campaign to cleanse Colombia,” the group, previously unknown here, said in a communique.

The group claims to be fighting for an end to corruption, starting with the resignation of Samper, whose administration is under pressure because of mounting evidence that the Cali drug cartel contributed $6 million to his 1994 presidential campaign.

Authorities believe Cancino was attacked because of his links to the increasingly unpopular president.

There was other speculation that the attack could have been carried out by the Cali drug cartel or even by U.S. agents.

Cancino, a brilliant, often caustic lawyer, is in charge of the president’s defense before a congressional committee probing allegations that Samper solicited and received the money from the Cali cartel.

Analysts note that if Samper took money from the cartel in exchange for lighter treatment--as his accusers allege--the cartel must be furious with him for betraying them. Since taking office, the president has jailed six cartel leaders, virtually dismantling the organization.

One member of Samper’s Cabinet blamed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“If you ask me if there are interests outside the country dedicated to creating instability [in Colombia], I think so, yes,” Interior Minister Horacio Serpa told reporters. “If you ask me if it’s the DEA, I’d say that rings a bell.”

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota did not immediately comment.