Uribe Ignores Lucio's Crimes and Narco Links, Grants Asylum
The Colombian government decided last week to grant asylum to former Ecuadorian president Lucio Gutiérrez, whose corruption-ridden administration ended in April following a revolt.
By granting asylum to Gutiérrez, the administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has given protection to a political figure whose presidential campaign was connected to a convicted narco-trafficker.
The connections between Gutiérrez's 2002 presidential campaign and drug money were unearthed in late 2003 after Ecuadorian police arrested the leader of a drug-trafficking organization.
That development also underscored the association of Alfredo Palacio, Ecuador's current president and Gutiérrez's running mate in 2002, with the arrested trafficker.
On Oct. 23, 2003, Ecuadorian police officers received a report from the U.S. Forward Operating Location in Manta, the airbase that hosted U.S. intelligence activities in Ecuador. The report warned of the landing of a suspicious Mexican-registered business jet on an airstrip at Portoviejo, a 250-thousand-people city in Ecuador’s coastal Manabi province.
That night, according to local press reports, when Ecuadorian narcotics agents raided the airstrip they found the jet in the hangar of Aerofer, a company owned by César Fernández, a wealthy local businessman who served as the governor of Manabi Province during the 1990s. Inside the plane police found 400 kilos of cocaine.
By granting asylum to Gutiérrez, the administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has given protection to a political figure whose presidential campaign was connected to a convicted narco-trafficker.
The connections between Gutiérrez's 2002 presidential campaign and drug money were unearthed in late 2003 after Ecuadorian police arrested the leader of a drug-trafficking organization.
That development also underscored the association of Alfredo Palacio, Ecuador's current president and Gutiérrez's running mate in 2002, with the arrested trafficker.
On Oct. 23, 2003, Ecuadorian police officers received a report from the U.S. Forward Operating Location in Manta, the airbase that hosted U.S. intelligence activities in Ecuador. The report warned of the landing of a suspicious Mexican-registered business jet on an airstrip at Portoviejo, a 250-thousand-people city in Ecuador’s coastal Manabi province.
That night, according to local press reports, when Ecuadorian narcotics agents raided the airstrip they found the jet in the hangar of Aerofer, a company owned by César Fernández, a wealthy local businessman who served as the governor of Manabi Province during the 1990s. Inside the plane police found 400 kilos of cocaine.
