Santiago Medina was an art collector, money launderer and a member of Colombian President Ernesto Samper's presidential campaign. He served as the primary link between the Cali cartel and the Samper government.
Medina received over $6 million dollars from accounts linked to Cali cartel banker Franklin Jurado, which he then funneled into Samper's presidential campaign with the help of Fernando Botero Zea, who was later appointed as the Defense Minister after Samper won the election.
For helping the campaign, Botero and Median negotiated a surrender deal with Cali cartel leader Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela which allowed them to spend a limited time in exchange for retaining all their wealth and assets. The US government, despite knowing Medina's link to the cartel, refused to act and allowed the surrender deal to go through; however the Search Bloc put an end to their plans by arresting the leaders of the cartel.