Pubdate: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2000 El Paso Times Contact: P.O.Box 20, El Paso, Texas 79999 Fax: (915) 546-6415 Website: http://www.borderlandnews.com/ Author: Diana Washington Valdez BARRIO ALLEGATIONS UNFOUNDED, FOX SAYS Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox told major Mexican TV and newspaper outlets that the recently publicized allegations against ex-Chihuahua Gov. Francisco Barrio Terrazas were opportunistic, malicious and without foundation. Fox, who assumes office Dec. 1, said he has not changed his mind about naming Barrio to a high-level post in the new Mexican government. For the third straight day, Juarez newspapers carried front-page stories about allegations that Barrio took protection money from Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the former leader of the Juarez drug cartel, while radio and TV talk shows also continued broadcasting the story. By Wednesday, the story had reverberated throughout Mexico, with national dailies and major TV networks joining in from Mexico City. Barrio denied the allegations Tuesday in full-page newspaper ads, and he talked Wednesday night by telephone to a Juarez Channel 44 TV anchor on "Pido La Palabra." Using newspaper ads is a traditional way for politicians in Mexico to respond, said Steven Barracca, a political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. "It's in Barrio's best interest to respond immediately," he said, adding that dealing directly with the source of the news is the best policy. During the past week, the El Paso Times has been unable to reach Barrio or his spokesman Eloy Morales for comments on the accusations. Mexican federal authorities said Barrio does not face any criminal charges, and the document is part of an extensive, ongoing investigation. The El Paso Times published a story Sunday quoting a witness in a Mexican federal arrest warrant who claimed that Barrio had asked Carrillo for large quantities of money while he was governor. Under Carrillo Fuentes, the Juarez drug cartel rose in power and scope inthe past decade. The new leader is alleged to be Amado's brother, Vicente Carrillo. The witness, Tomas Colsa MacGregor, was killed in 1997, four months after giving his statement to authorities. The 2,433-page document containing Colsa's statement was not made public until it became part of an extradition proceeding in El Paso's federal courthouse. The file arrived this summer and the hearing concluded Sept. 21. The story grabbed headlines in Mexico because "there are high expectations on the Fox administration to do well," Barracca said. "There is hope that people in (his) administration can change things. The story might have thrown some mud on all that ... irrespective of whether (the allegations) are true or not." Marisela Ortega, a correspondent for Norte de Monterrey, said the story "was relevant because the Fox administration was supposed to stand for the end of corruption." "Before Fox was elected president, everyone expected any accusations of corruption to revolve around members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), not the National Action Party (PAN)," she said. "This, plus the fact that Barrio is being considered for a cabinet-level post that targets corruption meant the story was important on a national level." Fox and Barrio are PAN members. Fox is the first non-PRI candidate to win the presidency in 71 years, and in 1992 Barrio became the first Panista to be elected governor of Chihuahua. Ortega said her newspaper carried the Barrio story in Tuesday's edition, and like many other Mexican news media outlets, quoted the El Paso Times as a source. "The El Paso Times was the only one that had the story, that's why everyone quoted from it, even if it meant giving credit to another news source," Ortega said. Juarez's Norte newspaper carried another full-page ad Wednesday, purchased by businesses in Mexico in support of Barrio's "moral and human purity." They included Restaurantes Barrigas, Elamex de Mexico and Grupo Argos. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake