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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- The leader of a major governing party was arrested Friday for alleged ties with far-right paramilitaries, compounding a scandal that has battered Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's congressional coalition. Sen Carlos Garcia, a physician first elected to the Senate in 1994, was arrested at a hotel in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta, the chief prosecutor's office said. The Supreme Court had been investigating him since April. Garcia heads the National Unity party, which holds the most seats in the Senate and has been promoting efforts to hold a referendum that would let Uribe run for a third consecutive term. He has denied allegations of ties with paramilitaries, which investigators say occurred in his home province of Tolima in 2001. One-tenth of Colombia's 268-member Congress has been jailed since... [read full story]
