Elizabeth Montoya de Sarria (born in 1949[1]) was allegedly an emissary from the Colombian drug-trafficking Cali Cartel to the then-Colombian president, Ernesto Samper's, 1994 presidential campaign.[2] Her husband, Jesus Amado Sarria Agredo, was convicted of drug trafficking and a former police officer was accused of having ties with the cartel.[3][4] De Sarria was implicated in accusations of illegal funding of Samper's campaign after tapes of two phone calls between them and the campaign treasurer Santiago Medina were published by the Bogota magazine Semana. Jesus Sarria was later found not guilty after further investigation and absolved of all accusations.[5]
On February 1, 1996, de Sarria was shot 12 times and killed.[2] She was scheduled to testify against Samper, who was accused of receiving funds from drug cartels. She was later found to be a scapegoat during the famous "Proceso 8000".[2][4] The group Dignity for Colombia claimed the murder.[5]
References
edit- ^ Andres Oppenheimer; Gerardo Reyes (February 23, 1916). "Did Colombian Leader Have `Blondie' Killed? -- Millionaire Was Link To Shady Money". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ a b c Farah, Douglas (February 4, 1996). "Officials Say U.S> Long Ago Mistrusted Colombia's Samper". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ David Evans (August 10, 1995). "Tape puts Colombia president under fire". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ a b Richard Bashor (February 3, 1996). "Witness in Probe of Samper Is Slain". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ a b Howard LaFranchi (February 6, 1996). "The Death of a 'Crafty Little Blonde'". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved March 10, 2022.