Sunday, 17 March, 2002
Colombia Says Drug Traffickers May Have Slain
Archbishop
VOA
News 17
Mar 2002

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| AP |
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| Archbishop Isaias Duarte |
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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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