Former Costa Rican president denies having received drug money

April 23^rd, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com)  Former President of Costa Rica, Luis Alberto Monge, denies that he received $2 million from drug kingpins to fund the final phase of his presidential campaign in the early 80’s.  Monge was president of Costa Rica between 1982 and 1986.

The accusation comes in a book written by the widow of Bolivian drug lord, Roberto Suarez Gomez.

Monge rejects the book’s account, calling it a “shameful and insidious lie,” and said in a statement that the story is “totally unfounded and completely illogical.”

The author of the book, titled the The King of Cocaine, is Bolivian Ayda Levy, who lived with Roberto Suarez for 23 years.  The book was published in November of last year.

In the book, Levy details the experiences of her husband, who died in July 2000, and who in the early 80’s was allegedly the largest producer of cocaine in the world.  Suarez was also a business partner of Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.

Levy, in her book, describes how on January 6^th, 1982, her husband and Pablo Escobar gave $2 million in cash to Monge during a meeting that included Panamanian General, Manuel Noriega.  The meeting allegedly took place at a farm in Panama owned by Noriega.

According to the book, Noriega informed the drug lords that they needed to fund the last phase of Monge’s campaign in Costa Rica, in order to have free access to Puerto Limon, where drug shipments could be collected for further shipment to Florida.

Monge says that the events never happened, and argues that his work schedule for the day in question shows that he was in Costa Rica.