BOGOTA, June 19 (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday dismissed accusations made by a fugitive drug lord that he had received cash from paramilitaries and cocaine traffickers during his 2002 presidential campaign. Uribe brushed off the charges made by Fabio Ochoa, one of the world's top suspected traffickers who Colombian police say is on the run in Mexico with a reward of $5 million offered by the U.S. government for his capture. Ochoa told Semana magazine he believed Uribe received funding from paramilitary commanders and drug traffickers before his first presidential victory five years ago. The Colombian leader was re-elected last year. "My campaigns have been run spotlessly, my political career did not begin yesterday," Uribe said at a public event. "We took all the measures needed to avoid cash from criminals, or anything of doubtful origin." A Washington ally who has received billions of dollar in U.S. counter-narcotics aid, Uribe is under increasing scrutiny for a scandal linking some of his political allies to illegal paramilitaries accused of massacres and drug-trafficking. National police commander Gen. Oscar Naranjo told reporters he had asked Mexican authorities to help hunt down Ochoa in that country. Violence from Colombia's conflict has dropped sharply under Uribe, but U.S. Democrats and opponents say he has failed to curb the criminal influence of paramilitary commanders who disarmed under a peace deal with his government. Left-wing FARC rebels are still fighting, helped by drug smuggling. Colombia remains the world's top supplier of cocaine despite billions of dollars spent on fumigating and eradicating coca leaf crops used to make the drug. Washington has given Colombia more than $4 billion in aid since 2000. But the scandal over paramilitary ties to Uribe's allies has some U.S. Democrats questioning a new aid package for Colombia. Some want Uribe to do more to tackle paramilitaries and spend more on social programs instead of fumigation.
