United States Embassies Colombia

Suspected drug traffickers threatened to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and the building was evacuated and will be closed for two days because of the threat, police said. Officers from a special bomb unit searched the five-story building. An embassy aide said the bomb threat came after President Virgilio Barco ordered the arrests of suspected traffickers throughout Colombia. More than 300 people were seized in the roundup, the largest ever of drug traffickers in Colombia.

A house painter who helped an Army colonel's wife smuggle drugs from Colombia was sentenced Friday to a longer prison term than she was--despite blaming her for orchestrating the widely publicized plot. Judge Edward Korman sentenced the admitted middleman, Hernan Arcila, to five years, three months in prison. Two weeks ago, Korman gave a five-year sentence to Laurie Hiett, wife of the former commander of U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia.

A house painter who helped an Army colonel's wife smuggle drugs from Colombia was sentenced Friday to a longer prison term than she was--despite blaming her for orchestrating the widely publicized plot. Judge Edward Korman sentenced the admitted middleman, Hernan Arcila, to five years, three months in prison. Two weeks ago, Korman gave a five-year sentence to Laurie Hiett, wife of the former commander of U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia.

U.S. officials are investigating six to eight American Embassy employees and dependents in Colombia for possibly using the mission's postal system to smuggle illegal drugs or other contraband to the United States, according to knowledgeable sources in Washington and Bogota. The investigations began after the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division charged the wife of the Army officer in command of the U.S. military's counter-drug efforts in Colombia with illegally shipping cocaine to the U.S.

U.S. officials are investigating six to eight American Embassy employees and dependents in Colombia for possibly using the mission's postal system to smuggle illegal drugs or other contraband to the United States, according to knowledgeable sources in Washington and Bogota. The investigations began after the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division charged the wife of the Army officer in command of the U.S. military's counter-drug efforts in Colombia with illegally shipping cocaine to the U.S.

In new signs of concern Wednesday over violence by ruthless drug traffickers, the U.S. Embassy ordered American dependents of its employees to leave Colombia, and 48 American exchange students departed for home. In Medellin, where a series of bomb explosions have been blamed on drug traffickers, the mayor imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Three bombs exploded Sunday in the city of Cali, killing a security guard, and a newspaper that has crusaded against Colombia's cocaine barons said that one of its reporters was slain by thugs. The bombings in Cali, headquarters of one of Colombia's big cocaine cartels, occurred shortly after midnight at two banks and a shopping center, said Col. Rozo Julio Navarro, chief of the national police force in the city, 180 miles southwest of Bogota.

The U.S. Embassy resumed operations under special police watch Wednesday, after a terrorist threat Tuesday that prompted evacuation of the building.

Three bombs exploded Sunday in the city of Cali, killing a security guard, and a newspaper that has crusaded against Colombia's cocaine barons said that one of its reporters was slain by thugs. The bombings in Cali, headquarters of one of Colombia's big cocaine cartels, occurred shortly after midnight at two banks and a shopping center, said Col. Rozo Julio Navarro, chief of the national police force in the city, 180 miles southwest of Bogota.

In new signs of concern Wednesday over violence by ruthless drug traffickers, the U.S. Embassy ordered American dependents of its employees to leave Colombia, and 48 American exchange students departed for home. In Medellin, where a series of bomb explosions have been blamed on drug traffickers, the mayor imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The U.S. Embassy resumed operations under special police watch Wednesday, after a terrorist threat Tuesday that prompted evacuation of the building.

Suspected drug traffickers threatened to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and the building was evacuated and will be closed for two days because of the threat, police said. Officers from a special bomb unit searched the five-story building. An embassy aide said the bomb threat came after President Virgilio Barco ordered the arrests of suspected traffickers throughout Colombia. More than 300 people were seized in the roundup, the largest ever of drug traffickers in Colombia.