Colombia's Uribe hit by another political scandal

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A former member of Colombia's Congress says she was offered illegal favors by the government to support an amendment that allowed President Alvaro Uribe to stand for re-election in 2006, a charge Uribe denied.

The attorney general on Monday opened an inquiry into Yidis Medina's accusation that the administration promised, but did not deliver, political favors in exchange for supporting the change in law.

The investigation comes on top of a scandal linking some of Uribe's closest political allies to far-right death squads and could further complicate passage of a U.S. free trade deal, which is being blocked by U.S. Democrats concerned about Uribe's human rights record.

In an interview conducted in 2004, but not released until late Sunday night, Medina told a journalist that administration officials offered her the chance to appoint members of three local commissions in her home province -- if she backed legislation allowing Uribe to run for another term.

At one meeting, she said, Uribe asked for her support and promised the government would honor its promises to her.