---
category: "Organized Crime"
tags:
  - Person
  - OrganizedCrime
  - Cartel
summary: "Three audio tapes of conversations between Rodriguez and Samper's campaign manager, Santiago Medina, were handed over to U.S."
born: 1950-08-03
location: "Bogotá, Colombia"
---
[[Ernesto Samper Pizano]] was the newly elected president of [[Colombia]]. He was accused of taking $3.7 million in campaign funds from [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela|Gilberto Rodriguez]], a leader of the [[Cali Drug Cartel]]. This accusation effectively aligned Samper with [[Colombia]]'s drug lords.[^1]

Three audio tapes of conversations between Rodriguez and Samper's campaign manager, Santiago Medina, were handed over to [[State Department|U.S. State Department]] officials before the election, but no action was taken. [[DEA|DEA]] officials were reportedly furious, stating that the [[State Department|State Department]] allowed this "travesty to take place" and that "Everybody, including the U.S. government, is participating in this cover-up." The [[State Department|State Department]] responded by saying, "We can't interfere with elections."[^1]

---
### Footnotes

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.