They pointed out factual errors in the document, which said Uribe had "attacked all forms" of an extradition treaty with the U.S. that Escobar had opposed. Uribe supported the treaty, they said, though he suggested postponing a vote to avoid pressure from drug lords.
They also noted that Uribe was studying at Harvard University in 1991 and questioned why the U.S. Embassy would issue a visa to someone suspected of having drug connections.
"The document shows that it is about information that was not evaluated," said a statement issued by Uribe's press office.
Nonetheless, Colombia experts said the document revived questions about Uribe's background.
Human rights groups have frequently alleged that the hard-charging politician had ties to right-wing paramilitary groups, and rumors have surfaced about purported drug links.
"We do know that DIA believed the document was serious and important enough to pass on to intelligence analysts in Washington," said Michael Evans, director of the Colombia Documentation Project for the National Security Archives.
But skeptics of Uribe were careful about the document's assertions about drug links. Uribe has based his political career on his reputation for honesty and his fight against corruption.
"It's not entirely unbelievable, but you need to put it in context, and you need a lot more specifics," said Adam Isacson, an expert on Colombia with the left-leaning Center for International Policy. "Was he turning a blind eye [to drug dealing], or was he actually part of the circle?"
The context goes back to the 1980s, when Pablo Escobar had turned a small drug-running operation into a criminal empire centered in Medellin, where Uribe was appointed mayor in 1982.
Uribe has long acknowledged that his youth and career in Medellin brought him into contact with drug world figures. A horse lover and cattle rancher, Uribe grew up competing in dressage events with the Ochoa clan, who would later become close allies of Escobar.
Cocaine money was omnipresent in Medellin at the time and Escobar was seen as a Robin Hood type who built houses and soccer fields for the poor. He paid off some politicians, killed others and had himself elected as a substitute representative to the national assembly.
The memo suggests that Uribe's links to Escobar date at least from that period. It says Uribe "participated" in Escobar's political campaign to win the seat.
