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. Sunday, 17 March, 2002


Colombia Says Drug Traffickers May Have Slain Archbishop

VOA News
17 Mar 2002
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AP Photo
AP
Archbishop Isaias Duarte
Top Colombian officials say drug traffickers could be behind the slaying of Roman Catholic Archbishop Isaias Duarte, who was gunned down Saturday in Cali.

 On Sunday, President Andres Pastrana condemned the slaying and announced a $500,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the killers.

 Officials have not identified the killers. Two men shot and killed the 63-year-old archbishop as he left a Cali church after giving a wedding mass. 

On Sunday, thousands of mourners lined the streets of Cali to enter a church to view the archbishop's body and pay their respects to the slain leader. The mayor of Cali declared three days of mourning. 

Archbishop Duarte was a high-profile leader who was known for his sharp criticism of violence and corruption. He had denounced the brutality of leftist rebels, right-wing paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.

 He had said publicly that drug trafficking money was used in the campaigns of some candidates in last week's congressional elections.

 On Sunday, Pope John Paul condemned the slaying. Appearing at his window overlooking Saint Peter's Square in Rome, the pope said the archbishop paid "the highest price" for his energetic defense of human life and firm opposition to violence.

 The 38-year civil war in Colombia has intensified since peace talks collapsed last month between the government and the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC.

 Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine. Authorities accuse the FARC and paramilitary groups of drug trafficking. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, the now-defunct Medellin cartel killed hundreds of people in Colombia in a bid to control the drug industry. 

Some information for this report provided by AP. 

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