91. Samper has been hampered by the allegations since shortly after the election, when audiotapes of Cali cartel leaders discussing campaign payoffs emerged. 92. Samper has repeatedly denied the allegations, and says his government is bent on bringing the cartel leaders to justice. 93. Samper said the police crackdown that put the cartel leaders in jail was proof that he never negotiated. 94. Samper has been hampered by allegations his campaign took drug money since shortly after the election, when audiotapes of cartel leaders discussing campaign payoffs emerged. 95. The announcement came as the reputed head of a new generation of Cali drug cartel leaders surrendered. 96. The cartel leaders had made conditional surrender offers in the past, and their lawyers had met intermittently with government prosecutors to discuss what sentences the traffickers might face. 97. That was before the Cali cartel leader was jailed. 98. The cartel leaders had offered to surrender, but the government refused to accept demands made by their lawyers in negotiations over their possible sentence. 99. The handcuffed cartel leader, calm and wearing a blue sports jacket, was shown to reporters at national police headquarters in the capital, Bogota. 100. The government plans to try one fugitive Cali cartel leader, Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, in absentia. |