Uribe says drugs and arms mix is 'maldita'

BOGOTÁ, July 7 (UPI) -- Colombian president Álvaro Uribe VÊlez said Wednesday that the mixture of narco-trafficking with illegal armed groups is "maldita," or evil.

The president made the comments on Radio Caracol as a guest on the show Colombo BritĂĄnica.

His comments appeared to be aimed at the leaders of the paramilitary group United Self-Defense of Colombia (AUC), who are currently involved in negotiations with the government in a demilitarized zone northwest of Colombia.

The connection of several of the group's leaders with narco-trafficking was generally known, but it was documented last Saturday by El Tiempo of Bogota.

The report has caused a controversy within different sectors of the government, some questioning whether they should be negotiating with the group at all.

According to the article, there are two principle leaders involved in narco-trafficking who have also been present at the peace talks: VĂ­ctor Manuel MejĂ­a Munera and Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo. Both have disguised their identities behind false names since the beginning of the talks.

Since the negotiations began July 1, the government has refused to reveal the identities of the paramilitary leaders involved.

Even though one of the main subjects of the talks is the request of AUC leaders for legal immunity so they may return to normal civilian life, Uribe insisted during the radio show that there would be no judicial immunity granted in the process and that he is working to that end.

"If there weren´t narco-trafficking going on in these groups, Colombia would have overcome this calamity a long time ago," Uribe said.