Samper Pizano, Ernesto

▪ 1997

      Even when judged by the rough-and-tumble standards of Colombian politics, Pres. Ernesto Samper Pizano's political career was unusually turbulent. In 1989, as he stood talking to José Antequera, a member of the left-wing Patriotic Union, an assassin opened fire, killing Antequera and putting four bullets into Samper. He recovered to become leader of the Liberal Party and to win the presidential election in 1994. Samper then encountered new troubles, however, as rumours of the Liberal Party's involvement with the Cali drug cartel were supported by the release of tape recordings of telephone conversations between the cartel's leaders, in which they discussed campaign contributions to the Liberal Party and meetings with Santiago Medina, the campaign's treasurer.

      In 1995 Colombia's attorney general, Alfonso Valdivieso, announced that his office was beginning a large-scale investigation of the ties between the cartel and the government. By the end of 1995, a number of party officials had been indicted, including Medina and Defense Minister Fernando Botero Zea, who had also served as Samper's campaign manager. In 1996, as more evidence of collaboration between the drug lords and the politicians surfaced, calls arose for Samper's resignation.

      Samper refused to step down, however, and continued to deny personal knowledge of the financial contributions from the cartel. In May he received a boost when a special congressional committee recommended to Congress that charges not be brought against him. The committee, however, was dominated by members of the Liberal Party, and Congress decided to pursue the investigation. In June the members of the Chamber of Deputies voted to clear Samper of the charge of knowingly receiving funds from drug traffickers. This decision ensured that he could not be reinvestigated and would not be impeached.

      Samper was born in Bogotá on Aug. 3, 1950. He graduated from Javeriana University, Bogotá, in 1972 with a degree in economics and earned his law degree from the same university the next year. In 1974 he joined the faculty of his alma mater, serving as a professor in the School of Law and Economics. Samper started out in politics as a Bogotá councillor and later moved to the national Senate. He served as campaign treasurer and coordinator during the unsuccessful presidential run of Alfonso López Michelsen in 1982.

      Opposition parties labeled Samper's acquittal as "the farce of the century" and pledged strikes and other protests in response. Ironically, Samper had proved popular with the public for what was perceived as a legitimate effort to step up the war on the drug lords. Cynics pointed out that this effort probably resulted more from the threats of political and economic sanctions by the United States than from any deeply held convictions on Samper's part. (JOHN H. MATHEWS)

* * *