---
born: 1950-08-03
category: Organized Crime
location: Bogotá, Colombia
summary: Three audio tapes of conversations between Rodriguez and Samper's campaign
  manager, Santiago Medina, were handed over to U.S.
tags:
- Person
- OrganizedCrime
- Cartel
---

[Ernesto Samper Pizano](/people/ernesto-samper-pizano/) was the newly elected president of [Colombia](/places/colombia/). He was accused of taking $3.7 million in campaign funds from [Gilberto Rodriguez](/people/gilberto-rodriguez-orejuela/), a leader of the [Cali Drug Cartel](/organizations/cali-drug-cartel/). This accusation effectively aligned Samper with [Colombia](/places/colombia/)'s drug lords.[^1]

Three audio tapes of conversations between Rodriguez and Samper's campaign manager, Santiago Medina, were handed over to [U.S. State Department](/organizations/state-department/) officials before the election, but no action was taken. [DEA](/organizations/dea/) officials were reportedly furious, stating that the [State Department](/organizations/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](/organizations/state-department/) responded by saying, "We can't interfere with elections."[^1]

---

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