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Juan Manuel Santos campaign chief resigns amid bribery allegations Juan Manuel Santos campaign chief resigns amid bribery allegations
(4 months later)
The chief strategist for Juan Manuel The chief strategist for Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia's presidential election campaign has resigned amid allegations he took US$12m from some of Colombia's top drug lords in exchange for helping to negotiate their surrender.
Santos in Colombia's presidential election campaign has resigned amid allegations he took The allegations against JJ Rendon were published by the Colombian newspaper El Espectador and news magazine Semana. The reports, published three weeks before the election, cited testimony from a US jail by Javier Antonio Calle, who was one of the country's most hunted drug traffickers until he turned himself in to the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2012.
US$12m from some of Colombia's top drug lords in exchange for Rendon acknowledged on Monday that he was approached by intermediaries of Calle and other drug bosses after Santos's 2010 election but denied taking money for communicating to Santos their offer to disarm in exchange for concessions such as protection from extradition to the US.
helping to negotiate their surrender. Police and prosecutors also acknowledged discussing the initiative with Rendon but said they rejected it out of hand. Calle ended up turning himself in to the US drug agents on the Caribbean island of Aruba a year later.
The allegations against JJ Santos was not implicated in any wrongdoing but Rendon's resignation could add complications for the incumbent Santos as he struggles to fend off rivals heading into the 25 May election. Rendon, a Venezuelan national, is one of Latin America's most prominent campaign consultants and credited with spreading underground attacks that helped Santos come from behind in a 2010 runoff to defeat Antanas Mockus.
Rendon were published by the Colombian newspaper El Santos called Rendon's resignation a "gallant" gesture to avoid distracting from the campaign in its final stretch. The president said he did not know whether Rendon received payments for his mediation efforts but said he took his former aide's good word.
Espectador and news magazine Semana. The reports, published three weeks before the election, cited testimony from a The office of Colombia's chief federal prosecutor said it was looking into the matter and would send prosecutors to New York to interview Calle before deciding whether to open a probe into the actions of Rendon and another Santos aide implicated in the media reports, former political adviser German Chica.
US jail by Javier Antonio Calle, who was one of the country's Before his surrender Calle and his brother, who also is in US custody, ran a criminal gang known as Los Rastrojos, or The Leftovers, a violent paramilitary force that dominated the cocaine trade along Colombia's border with Venezuela and other parts of the country.
most hunted drug traffickers until he turned himself in to the Drug
Enforcement Administration in 2012.
Rendon acknowledged on Monday that he was approached by intermediaries
of Calle and other drug bosses after Santos's 2010 election but
denied taking money for communicating to Santos their offer
to disarm in exchange for concessions such as protection from
extradition to the US.
Police and prosecutors also acknowledged discussing the initiative with
Rendon but said they rejected it out of hand. Calle ended up turning
himself in to the US drug agents on the Caribbean island of Aruba a
year later.
Santos was not implicated in any wrongdoing but Rendon's resignation
could add complications for the incumbent Santos as he struggles to fend off
rivals heading into the 25 May election. Rendon, a Venezuelan national,
is one of Latin America's most prominent campaign consultants and
credited with spreading underground attacks that helped Santos come from
behind in a 2010 runoff to defeat Antanas Mockus.
Santos called Rendon's resignation a "gallant" gesture to avoid
distracting from the campaign in its final stretch. The president said
he did not know whether Rendon received payments for his mediation
efforts but said he took his former aide's good word.
The office of Colombia's chief federal prosecutor said it was looking
into the matter and would send prosecutors to New York to interview
Calle before deciding whether to open a probe into the actions of Rendon
and another Santos aide implicated in the media reports, former
political adviser German Chica.
Before his surrender Calle and his brother, who also is in US
custody, ran a criminal gang known as Los Rastrojos, or The Leftovers,
a violent paramilitary force that dominated the cocaine trade along
Colombia's border with Venezuela and other parts of the country.