Proceso 8000

The Process 8000 (lit. '8000 Process') is the unofficial name given to the corruption scandal surrounding accusations that Colombian Liberal Party candidate Ernesto Samper's 1994 campaign for President of Colombia was partially funded by drug money. The name came from the case number issued by the Office of the Attorney General for their investigation into the allegations. The investigation formally ended in the mid-1990s. The investigation found several of Samper's close associates to be guilty, although Samper himself was absolved of any wrongdoing.^[1][2]

Timeline

June 1994

• 15 June: Defeated Conservative Party candidate Andrés Pastrana Arango says he has received tape recordings from an unnamed man during a visit to Cali. These tapes, nicknamed the "narco-cassettes", contain hours of discussions between members of the Colombian Liberal Party and a man speaking on behalf of the Cali Cartel.^[3]
• 19 June: The second half of the 1994 Colombian presidential election is held.
• 24 June: The Office of the Attorney General summons some people mentioned in the narco-cassettes who allegedly benefited from drug money. Among those summoned were former director of the Administrative Department of Security Miguel Maza Márquez, former campaign treasurer César Villegas, Hernán Beltz Peralta, Álvaro Pava, Santiago Medina, Alberto Giraldo, Carlos Oviedo, and Eduardo Mestre.^[4]

See also

• Corruption in Colombia