SWISS SAY EVIDENCE LINKS SALINAS BROTHER TO DRUG MONEY

Swiss investigators believe they have firm evidence that Raul Salinas, the
jailed brother of the former Mexican president Carlos Salinas, made tens of
millions of dollars as a crucial intermediary for Colombian
drug-trafficking cartels in the early 1990s.

A report in the Wall Street Journal yesterday says the Swiss team, which
froze $120 million (£75 million) in Swiss bank accounts controlled by Raul
Salinas at the start of the investigation in 1995, have obtained sworn
evidence from United States drug agents and Mexican and Colombian
traffickers and financiers which reveals a multi-million dollar network of
links between the drug cartels and Mexican politicians, with Mr Salinas at
its centre. Mr Salinas is in prison in Mexico for conspiring to murder a
political opponent and still faces possible charges of "inexplicable
enrichment". He has always denied that his wealth comes from the drugs
trade, but one witness told investigators that the Colombian cartels paid
$80 million to Mexican politicians between 1990 and 1993 and that half the
money went directly to Mr Salinas.

The witness, Guillermo Pallomari, was chief personal adviser to Miguel
Rodriguez, one of the four Cali cartel chiefs, from 1990 to 1994, before
turning himself over to the authorities. Mr Pallomari says that Mr Salinas
was paid directly by Amado Carillo Fuentes, who was then the head of
Mexico's largest cocaine network. He has provided investigators with
documents supporting his allegations.

Mr Pallomari says that Mr Salinas received money, watches, paintings and
jewels in return for facilitating drug flights into and out of Mexico and
arranging for the return of drug hauls seized by the authorities. According
to Mr Pallomari, Mr Salinas was known by the cartel as chupa sangre - the
bloodsucker.

On one occasion, investigators have been told, Mr Salinas arranged for the
return of 3,000kg of cocaine to the Cali cartel after 5,000kg had been
seized by Mexican drug enforcement authorities in Acapulco.

Mr Salinas continues to claim that his fortune consisted of money given to
him by others for investment. But the Swiss investigators are said to have
obtained detailed ledgers from the cartels which record payments to Mr
Salinas and other politicians and officials.

Interview: Michael Palin Mexico has indicated that it is unlikely to agree
to the extradition of Mr Salinas to stand trial in any other country, but a
spokesman for the attorney-general, Jorge Madrazo, said yesterday that his
office would like to work with the Swiss authorities once the
investigations there had been completed.

The evidence does not directly implicate Carlos Salinas, Mexico's president
between 1988 and 1995. He left the country after his brother was charged
with involvement in the assassination of a leading political opponent, Luis
Donaldo Colosio. Carlos, who has lived in Dublin for much of the time since
then, says he did not know about his brother's activities.

However, some of the witnesses have told the investigators that the
Colombian cartels thought that their payments to Raul Salinas were a way to
buy influence with the president.

As well as the Swiss inquiries into Raul Salinas's financial affairs, other
investigations have been taking place in the US, Mexico, France and Britain.

As well as the cartel in Cali, Mr Salinas has been linked to two others -
one of them Colombian, the other Mexican. Part of the investigation also
centres on how Mr Salinas was able to transfer millions of dollars into
Swiss accounts from a Citibank private account based in Mexico.

Copyright Guardian Media Group 1998