country's over $1billion of economic aid to Colombia, saying that Colombia's government was too corrupt to combat its country's drug lords, although Colombia would continue to receive $37million in aid to combat narcotics trafficking. The United States would also seek to block loans from international organizations. For years, Samper's administration was lambasted by the US for its supposed failure to make every effort to effectively fight the war against cocaine and the Cali Cartel. Additionally, the US revoked Samper's visa and thereby effectively banned him from entering the country. Ambassadorship offer In July 2006, President Álvaro Uribe offered Samper Colombia's ambassadorship to France. This led to the resignation of former President and Ambassador of Colombia to the United States, Andrés Pastrana, who criticized the decision. Opposition was also expressed by the media, political groups, and other segments of Colombian society. In the end, Samper did not accept the offer. Secretary General of UNASUR In July 2014, Samper was named Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He took office on 11 September 2014. During his inauguration ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, Samper announced that he planned to focus on three agendas: political, social, and economic. He also announced plans to create a South American International Criminal Court to deal with regional criminal issues. Samper left office on 31 January 2017. Personal life Samper married Silvia Arbelaez with whom he had one son, Andrés. The couple divorced, and Samper married Jacquin Strouss Lucena on 16 June 1979, with whom he has two children, Miguel and Felipe. In popular culture In the 2013 TV series Tres Caínes, Samper is portrayed as the character Enrique Sander, acted by the Colombian actor Diego Camacho. Samper was portrayed by Tristán Ulloa in season 3 (2017) of the crime drama television series Narcos. References Further reading Fernando Botero's 2007 Spanish language tv and radio interview with new details on Ernesto Samper's involvement on receiving money from the Cali Cartel - El Tiempo Ingrid Betancourt, La Rage au Coeur, Edition XO, Pocket, 2001, External links Biography by Fundación CIDOB (in Spanish) |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Politicians from Bogotá Pontifical Xavierian University alumni Colombian economists Colombian people of Scottish descent Presidents of Colombia Colombian Liberal Party politicians Members of the Senate of Colombia Colombian Ministers of Economic Development Ambassadors of Colombia to Spain Secretaries-General of the Non-Aligned Movement Secretaries