South America
Colombia's Uribe hit by another political scandal
By Hugh Bronstein
Apr 21, 2008, 16:06

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A former member of Colombian Congress says she was offered illegal favors by the government to support a amendment that allowed President Alvaro Uribe to stand for re-election in 2006, a charge Uribe denied.

In a video aired late Sunday, former member of the lower house Yidis Medina said the government promised but did not deliver favors in exchange for supporting the change in law.

The Supreme Court is investigating the case, which along with a scandal linking some of Uribe's closest political allies to far-right death squads could further complicate passage of U.S. free trade deal, blocked by Capital Hill Democrats concerned about the president's human rights record.

In 2004, Medina said administration officials offered her the chance to name members of three local commissions in her home province of Santander as a way to increase her influence.

At one meeting, she said Uribe asked for her support and promised the government would honor its promises to her.

"He said he wanted to save the country and he wanted more time to complete his program," she says of Uribe in the video, which was shot in August 2004.

The president, now half way through his second term, denied Medina's accusations.

"The government persuades. It does not buy loyalties," Uribe said. "We do not tolerate corruption."

The video's release came two days after the courts opened an investigation into Senate leader Nancy Gutierrez for possible connections to outlawed right-wing militias. More than 60 legislators, most from Uribe's coalition, have been caught up in the probe of paramilitary influence in Congress.

But the conservative White House-ally remains highly popular for cutting crime and sparking economic growth with his U.S.-backed crackdown on leftist insurgents.

Uribe called on the attorney general to investigate the opposition columnist and TV producer who conducted the interview.

"Everything indicates that the journalist and the interviewee talked previously about the questions and answers and held the video back until both believed it was the right time to air it," a presidential statement said.

Medina, a Conservative party member who was part of Uribe's coalition, said the interview was not staged. She said she recorded it as a way to protect herself from reprisal.

© Copyright 2004 by YourSITE.com