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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 15 March 2017

Colombian president apologizes for corrupt firm’s donations

JOSHUA GOODMAN received $1 million from the
Associated Press Brazilian company. Prieto
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) himself has been accused
— President Juan Manuel by a jailed lobbyist hired by
Santos apologized to Co- Odebrecht of receiving $1
lombians on Tuesday after million in cash for the San-
revelations that a scandal- tos campaign, an accu-
tarred Brazilian construc- sation Prieto denied in an
tion company illegally paid interview Tuesday with Blu
costs related to his 2010 Radio. Odebrecht is also
campaign. accused of covering $1.6
Santos’ apology came af- million in campaign bills for
ter his former campaign Santos’ conservative rival
manager, Roberto Prieto, in the 2014 race.
acknowledged for the first For many Colombians tired
time that Odebrecht paid of shady dealings from the
$400,000 to a vendor to country’s political elite, the
print 2 million campaign accusation recalled the
posters during the final covert way the Cali drug
stretch of the 2010 race, cartel funded President
though he said the presi- Ernesto Samper’s 1994
dent had no knowledge of campaign. Presidential
the irregular payment. campaign contributions
“I deeply regret and ask by companies are illegal
forgiveness to Colombians in Colombia, but like many Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos gives a thumbs up in Bogota, Colombia. A corruption
scandal that has spread across Latin America is inching closer to Santos amid new evidence that
for this embarrassing act places throughout Latin suggests a Brazilian construction company paid $1 million for an opinion poll carried out during
that should never, nev- America, candidates regu- his re-election campaign.
er have happened and larly keep a second, unde- (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
about which I just found clared war chest of private ment a peace accord with tional concerns of public nance ministers, for alleged
out,” Santos said in a video contributions to finance leftist rebels showing signs safety and the lack of eco- negligence and misman-
message. “I never autho- the high cost of running for of fraying. nomic opportunity in the agement in the expan-
rized nor did I have knowl- office. Santos’ approval rating war-torn country. sion of a state-owned oil
edge of these actions, Although Santos is at no risk stood at 24 percent in Feb- In another sign of how cor- refinery. The project at the
which were carried out in of being impeached like ruary, close to the lowest ruption is dominating vot- Reficar refinery was origi-
direct violation of the ethi- Samper nearly was, the ac- since he took office. The ers’ sentiment, the gov- nally budgeted at $3.5 bil-
cal norms and controls I cusations are likely to fur- same Gallup survey found ernment’s independent lion but ended up costing
demanded be put in place ther damage his standing that Colombians for the first comptroller general on almost triple that amount,
during the campaign.” with elections to choose his time in more than 12 years Monday launched a probe with cost overruns that ex-
The revelation that sur- successor 14 months away of polling consider corrup- of more than 30 high-rank- ceed the $5 billion price
faced in local media last and an uneasy coalition in tion the country’s top prob- ing officials, including the tag of the recent Panama
week is the latest to tarnish congress needed to imple- lem, even more than tradi- current defense and fi- Canal expansion.q
Santos’ reputation for rec-
titude by associating the OAS head urges bloc suspend Venezuela over elections
Nobel Peace Prize winner
with Odebrecht, which has
admitted to paying almost BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — unless general elections lan President Nicolas Mad- Maduro’s government has
$800 million in bribes across The head of the Organiza- are held soon. uro has broken the coun- yet to comment but in the
Latin America. tion of American States is OAS Secretary General try’s democratic order by past has accused Almagro
Last week, a polling com- recommending to regional Luis Almagro makes the re- disregarding the results of of doing the bidding of the
pany that worked for San- governments that Venezu- quest in a 75-page report in 2015 legislative elections U.S. government and trying
tos’ 2014 re-election said it ela be suspended from the which he says the socialist and jailing dozens of oppo- to isolate Venezuela.q
Washington-based group administration of Venezue- nents.