Bogota Statement Claims to Offer A Surrender by the Drug Cartels
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A message that purported to come from Colombia’s drug trafficking cartels said today that the Government had won in the war on drugs and offered to halt illegal activities in exchange for an amnesty. A message that purported to come from Colombia’s drug trafficking cartels said today that the Government had won in the war on drugs and offered to halt illegal activities in exchange for an amnesty. The traffickers released two kidnapping victims to back up the offer, which was similar to previous proposals that have been rejected by the Government. The difference in this proposal was the cartel’s statement that it accepted defeat. ”We accept the triumph of the state,” said the communique signed by the Extraditables, the armed wing of the nation’s powerful drug traffickers. ”Thus we will lay down our arms and abandon our objectives for the benefit of the highest interests of the fatherland.” The communique came in response to a call on Monday by the Roman Catholic Church and political leaders for drug cartels to release their hostages and end drug trafficking. ”We submit to the existing legal establishment in the hope of obtaining from the Government and from society respect for our rights and our return to our families and communities,” it said. That has been the traffickers’ way in the past of saying they want pardons and immunity from extradition to the United States. More : query.nytimes.com |