Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 1989)
e Battalion ORLD & NATION 11 *hat hursday, August 31,1989 fCocaine country’ under curfew Curfew ordered for 9 Colombian cities, affects 3 million people THE GRAPEVINE 201 Live Oak College Station, TX 77840 Behind La Quinta 696-3411 I BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Au thorities imposed a curfew Wednes- Thfinv day in Medellin and nine other cities ' in the heart of cocaine country to try to halt violence by drug barons stung y Colombia's crackdown on narcot- Also Wednesday, the U.S. govern- ent ordered families of its embassy :aff to leave Colombia, a spokesman lid. The order apparently was iven because of fears of attacks by drug traffickers. 1 A shipment of weapons bound for Medellin was intercepted, and au- Biorities said three more judges re signed in the city that reputedly sup plies the United States with 80 percent of its cocaine. I More than 100 judges have re- ■gned since drug traffickers vowed to retaliate for a crackdown on drug R-afficking. ■ The curfews imposed Wednesday b' Interior Minister Orlando Vas- quez affect a total of about 3 million people. He said the mayors of the municipalities under the curfew Ijave broader powers to conduct marches, inspect vehicles and arrest iispects. ■ Medellin Mayor Juan Gomez Martinez said the curfew is in effect ■•om 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for all vehi- des and pedestrians, will remain in effect inaefinitely in Colombia’s sec- (jnd-largest city, “until the nights in Medellin quiet down.” ■ The industrial city of about 2 mil lion lie, 215 miles north of Bo- peopl gota, is home to the world’s largest cocaine cartel. Medellin has suffered almost daily bombings by the traf fickers, who are pressing the govern ment to end its 12-day-old campaign and negotiate a peace. In a Medellin news conference broadcast by the national radio chain Caracol, Gomez Martinez said there would be no exceptions to the cur few. “We will not give safe conduct passes,” he said. Gomez Martinez complained of a lack of security assistance from the national government. He has asked for 3,000 additional national police officers to bolster the existing force of 4,000. He said the government agreed to provide an extra 100. The mayor favors talks with the traffickers, but said at the news con ference that the suggestion had been rejected by the government, and that he was carrying out all anti-nar cotics measures ordered by national authorities. Communications Minister Carlos Lemos Simonds said on Tuesday, ’’There will be no dialogue.” At midday, Mayor Escobar Perez anounced an identical curfew in the town of Itagui, 10 miles south of Me dellin. — Vasquez ordered the curfew ex tended to eight other communities near Medellin. They are Bello, La Estrella, Envigado, Sabaneta, Rione- S ro, Copabacana, Guarne and Gal as. "Medellin has become a center of perturbation in the country,” Vas quez told reporters. Since the government launched its offensive and drug barons re sponded with a declaration of war, the city and surrounding commu nities have been rocked by at least 17 bombings and three arson attacks, according to police reports. Several other bombs were found . Government rids Colombian town of drug lord ' /la fl's, U)r$0f , fvjosmi Dem W!" J PACHO, Colombia (AP) — Gonzalo Rodriguez Ga- cha, the drug lord who owned this town, was generous one day and evil the next. He gave money to adults and toys to children, killed people who displeased him and had a gallows in his yam. Few residents of Pacho would talk with a reporter about the billionaire former pig farmer, who would pass out $7,500 or so when he felt good and, when he didn’t, might kill a motorist who got in his way. Last week, the crackdown on drug traffickers led the army to his hometown of 20,000 people 50 miles north of Bogota, the capital. Jaime Uscategui Ramirez, the army colonel who led the raiding soldiers, said Rodriguez Gacha was so feared in Pacho that, when his 18-year-old son went into a bar, the doors were closed to everyone else until he left. The son, Freddy, was arrested last week, but his father is still at large. At the main ranch, soldiers found 500 dolls wrapped for next Christmas inside the house and a wooden gal lows outside. The government has confiscated the ranches and other property belonging to Rodriguez Gacha. President Virgilio Barco ordered the raids and ar rests after Colombia’s cocaine barons killed Sen. Luis Carlos Galan, the leading presidential candidate and a foe of the drug trade, on Aug. 18. Leaders of the drug cartels are said to own major of fice buildings and hundreds of ranches, and their im portance to towns like Pacho is enormous. “The people here will resent it, but in the end they will adapt to the new situation,” Uscategui said of the raids. “We had no alternative.” SA Y FAREWELL TO FLA T HAIR. High energy hair, more volume and life, plus truly incredible, shine. That’s what you get with VaVoom, and you get them all with incredible ease, The VaVoom Volume Generators™ from Matrix. For today's active men and women. Enjoy sensa tional body, styling excitement, a dramatic differ ence in how your hair looks and responds. ferguson and company 846-1019 809 east university drive, suite 410, at creekside-College Station, tx 77840 )wal: Of fa hi'w I Updated government economic report provides more good news for America L WASHINGTON (AP) —Ameri- Jans’ personal incomes rose a brisk 0.7 percent in July while consumer spending climbed at the fastest rate lince April, the government said Wednesday in a report providing biore good news about the country’s [conomic prospects. The Gomrderce E>«§puiTtilent said jiie rise in incomes, reeled by rapid rrowth in wages and salaries, was the liggest monthly gain since a 1 per- ent increase in March. The department said that con sumer spending also posted a 0.7 percent increase last month, the fast est advance since a 1.2 percent rise in April. The government also made signif icant revisions to previous months showing that income growth and consumer spending were not as slug gish as previously believed. Private economists said the combi nation of the strong July increases and the upward revisions in earlier months showed that the current eco nomic expansion, which this month became the second longest in U.S. history, was picking up steam. Just a month., ago, there were widespread fears that just the re verse was occurring, with many ana lysts predicting, on the basis of weak reports, that the country was in dan ger of toppling into a recession. lonsumers clash with USD A over lunch food jin ugh the ie she hh :ra. are taW! roles, at. 1 inein' “Ediitatt inline iant. Cl reen cal; icver i her polf] eaflflif ociateM WASHINGTON (AP) School lunchroom cooks ire hampered in efforts to provide nutritious meals be- ause the government donates mainly “fat-laden foods” uch as ground beef, pork and luncheon meats, a con- umer health group said Wednesday. Ellen Haas, director of the Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, criticized the Agriculture Department, ie agency responsible for administering the National khool Lunch Program, for “not providing the critical :adership necessary to speed progress in reducing fat )i school lunches.” Scott Dunn, acting administrator of USDA’s Food ind Nutrition Service, countered by saying the depart ment is committed to dietary guidelines developed fointly with the Department of Health and Human :rvices. He said the guidelines don’t set quantitative Standards for fat. “There is no scientific consensus on appropriate lev els of fat in children’s diets,” Dunn said. The American School Food Service Association noted in a statement that “children’s eating habits are influenced by multiple factors such as home, school, and restaurants.” It said parents and community groups must share responsibility for improving young people’s dietary preferences. The consumer group said its survey of school food service directors shows, nevertheless, that the govern ment school lunch program lends little encouragement to dieticians seeking to lower the fat content of lunches. Public Voice said 67 percent of 177 school food serv ice directors surveyed said that the USDA’s commodity distribution program is one of the most significant bar riers to their efforts to provide nutritious meals. “The economy was not nearly as weak in the spring,” Bruce Stein berg, senior economist at the New York brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch said. “The image of an econ omy on the verge of a recession has been changed by these revisions.” 1 he government on Tuesday sig nificantly revised upward its esti mate of total economic growth, put ting the increase in the gross national product from April through June at a healthy 2.7 per cent annual rate instead of the ane mic 1.7 percent rate reported a month ago. Most of the upward revision in GNP growth came from a doubling of the estimate of how much con sumers spent during the April-June quarter. Wednesday’s report showed that consumer spending was even stronger in July, primarily because of a surge in sales of autos spurred by incentive sales programs aimed at reducing a high inventory of unsold cars. With car sales remaining strong, consumer spending this quarter should surpass the second quarter pace. Northgate Pizza Hut presents piSKP '■Hut. Bottle Beer and the Big Bad Bodacious Buffet are Back! Nightly Specials Monday 99£ Nights - From 5 p.m. to Close thru All Domestic Longnecks, Pepperoni Wednesday Personal Pans or Breadsticks only 990 each. Thursday Friday and Saturday Sunday Thirsty Thursday - 500 Wine Coolers, 750 Domestic Longnecks and 990 Imported Longnecks from 5 p.m. til Midnight. Free Movie Night - Come in and see two different new releases nightly on our big screen television. Watch our marquis for each weeks features. Buffet Night - All the pizza, pasta and salad you can eat from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for only $3. 73 . Watch For Our Daily Beer Specials! INTERNATIONAL WORK • STUDY • TRAVEL WORK Britain • Costa Rica * France • Germany • Ireland • New Zealand • Enhance your resume! • Call for free brochure STUDY France • Germany • Switzerland • Italy • Spain • Japan • Learn a language the European way • 22 centers in the above countries TRAVEL PARIS $309 MADRID RIO $380 TOKYO One way from Houston BOOK NOW FOR THE HOLIDAYS! LONDON $289 CARACAS $155 $325 $508 Council Travel The Travel Division of The Council of International Education Exchange 3300 W. Mockingbird #101 Dallas, Texas 75235 1 (800) 777-2874 (214) 350-6166 OK© PhM<appaTheta Sa.va.ge Island Party Thursday, August 31 TAMU Wellborn g PHI KAPP HOUSE S □ CD University CZ1 Sigma Something Event Call Phi Kapp House for details 846-2731