BOGOTA, Colombia -- (AP) -- The former commander of a notorious army
             intelligence unit organized the assassination of Colombia's main opposition leader
             three years ago, probably on orders from a senior official, judicial sources said
             Friday.

             Former Col. Bernardo Ruiz Silva, for whom an arrest warrant was issued in
             mid-October, is accused of planning the Nov. 2, 1995, murder of Alvaro Gomez
             Hurtado, the officials said.

             Ruiz was still at large Friday and believed to be in Colombia, said the sources,
             who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

             Prosecutors had hoped to keep the arrest warrant secret until they captured Ruiz,
             but news of the charges was leaked by Colombian media.

             Ruiz is wanted on charges of aggravated homicide, intent to murder and
             conspiracy, a spokesman for the chief prosecutor's office said.

             Gomez, a three-time presidential candidate and head of the Conservative Party,
             was shot to death in broad daylight as he got into his car after teaching a class at a
             Bogota university.

             The assassination occurred during a period of great political turmoil, when Gomez
             was demanding that then-President Ernesto Samper resign because of evidence he
             was elected in 1994 with $6 million in contributions from drug cartels.

             Four former soldiers, all of whom served under Ruiz, have been arrested for
             allegedly carrying out the assassination. Some have implicated Ruiz, who at the
             time of the killing commanded the 20th Intelligence Brigade, the sources said. In
             all, six people have been arrested in the case.

             The officials said prosecutors believe Ruiz was acting on the orders of
             higher-ranking officials, perhaps even someone within the Samper administration.

             The television news program CMI  reported Thursday night that two generals and
             several leading politicians have also been implicated in the assassination. It did not
             name them and no further arrest warrants have been issued.

             Some Colombian media have theorized that the assassination was ordered
             because Gomez was involved in a plot to overthrow Samper.

             Without naming names, Samper repeatedly asserted that conservative politicians
             were trying to organize a coup against him.

             Former U.S. Ambassador Myles Frechette has said he was approached in August
             1995 by Samper opponents who sought Washington's support for a coup.
             Frechette said he refused to help the conspirators, whom he has not named.

             Ruiz was relieved of his command in late 1997 and the 20th Intelligence Brigade
             was dissolved in May. The State Department, Colombian prosecutors and
             international human rights groups had repeatedly accused the brigade of
             sponsoring death squad killings.
 

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