Despite this, the rise of press lawsuits as an alternative form of intimidation has been cited as a threat to free journalism in the country. See main page Álvaro Uribe  Uribe was notable for his hardline stance against leftist insurgent groups, initially advocating against any concessions and negotiations with groups such as FARC, and for greater military action, and economic and infrastructure development. His actions successfully weakened and fought back the leftist rebel groups, decreasing their territory and scope of control as well as removing their ability to govern great areas of land and even some urban areas. He controversially had negotiated agreements and passed laws granting amnesty to demobilized paramilitary groups, and was referred to by some opponents as "authoritarian." However, his ability to improve the security and economic situation of the country made him overall popular. Having earned a law degree from Universidad de Antioquia and a postgraduate degree in Management and Administration from Harvard university, Uribe became a civil servant by the age of 24. He was appointed Secretary General of the Labor Ministry by 1977–8. Afterwards Uribe lead the Civil Aviation Ministry from 1980–2, and was elected to be the mayor and later a city council member of Medellin from 1982–6. He was elected Senator from 1986–1990, under which he won the Star Senator, Senator with the Best Programs and Best Senator awards. From 1995-7 Uribe was elected governor of Antioquia. During his tenure, he developed a method of civil participation called the Community State. His actions led to around a third of government jobs and official vehicle use to be cut, the funding allocated instead to educating 103,000 new students. Uribe's decisions lead to 939 km of new roads to be paved, as well as existing highways to be repaired. Kidnappings dropped 60% under his tenure. From 1998–1999, Uribe was an associate professor at Oxford University. Up until this point, Uribe ran and served as elected officials under the Liberal Party. The books "The Lord of Shadows" by Newsweek journalist, Joseph Contreras, and "The Horsemen of Cocaine", by Fernando Garavito and Fabio Castillo, accuse Uribe of having granted known drug traffickers licences to fly when working in the Civil Aviation Ministry. The United States State Department in a 1991 report referred to Uribe as “Pablo Escobar’s close friend” as well as linked Uribe's father, Alberto Uribe to drug trafficking groups and paramilitaries.