U.S. Official Makes, Retracts Bribery Charge
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A U.S. federal prosecutor said the Cali drug cartel bribed former President Ernesto Samper to win passage of a favorable extradition law, prompting an angry denial from Samper.
The prosecutor later formally withdrew his statement and U.S. Ambassador William Wood also gave assurances that the U.S. would comply with Colombia’s extradition requirements.
U.S. Atty. Paul Perez had said Samper received $5 million in bribes from the Cali cartel to promote passage of a law that would prohibit extraditions for suspects in crimes committed before December 1997.
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