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Uribe disrupts Colombia-Venezuela relations
By
Berta Joubert-Ceci
Published Nov 30, 2007 9:33 PM
Political developments in Colombia and Venezuela, two countries in South
America that share a 1,380-mile border, are strategic to the region’s
political climate and stability. This puts them also in the sights of the Bush
administration and the Pentagon.
Both countries have vast natural resources. Colombia enjoys the geopolitical
advantage of having both an Atlantic and a Pacific coast. Venezuela has vast
oil reserves. Transnational corporations find this lure enticing.
The governments of these two countries have opposing ideologies. The neofascist
President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, the closest ally of Bush in all Latin
America, rules Colombia. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Frías
has been promoting a revolution that aims to construct society on a socialist
foundation; to Washington’s dismay, several countries in South and
Central America are following Chávez’s example.
The U.S. agenda has been to destabilize the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela,
mostly through the funding of violent opposition groups that hide behind the
mask of “democracy” in Venezuela and by U.S. political
intervention. Meanwhile, Washington props up the Uribe government with more
than $4 billion to date through Plan Colombia. The U.S. intervenes politically
in Colombia mostly through its ambassador in Bogotá, Colombia Colombia is
third in U.S. military aid after the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The U.S. goal of pitting Colombia and Venezuela against each other had failed
overall until recently. Despite their differences, both countries had increased
trade with each other. Both are each other’s second largest trading
partners after the U.S. Several weeks ago an oil and gas pipeline was
inaugurated in Colombia, a joint Colombia-Venezuela project.
Of course the U.S. has attempted to intervene. Colombian paramilitaries were
caught in Caracas several years ago, planning to kill President Chávez.
Other incidents in both countries pointed in the direction of a destabilization
move against the Bolivarian Revolution coming from Colombia’s soil.
And now, Uribe’s abrupt and unilateral call to stop the negotiations for
a Humanitarian Exchange (HE) of prisoners in Colombia’s civil war have
brought the good-neighbor relations to a screeching halt. The negotiations were
aimed at exchanging 45 people held by the Colombian liberation fighters known
as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—Popular Army (FARC-EP) and
the 500 FARC members in Colombian prisons.
Humanitarian Exchange, a hope for peace in Colombia
The growing movement for a humanitarian exchange in Colombia opposes the
U.S./Uribe’s plan to “rescue” those held by the guerrilla
forces through military intervention. Every such military attack in the past
has led to more deaths of prisoners.
It is likely this growing movement, with ample support both in Colombia and
internationally, prompted Uribe to accept negotiations that could lead to the
exchange. Even the conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy applied
pressure to start talks, as he had to show interest in freeing French-Colombian
Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian presidential candidate. Also, the parents
of three U.S. Pentagon contractors demanded talks. The FARC-EP holds these
people prisoners.
The FARC itself has said it would like the HE to lead to negotiations with the
government for an eventual peace plan.
Colombian Senator
Piedad Córdoba, shown above at an environmental conference in Caracas.
WW photo: Deirdre Griswold
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In mid-August, Uribe surprised observers by selecting Afro-Colombian senator
Piedad Córdoba to be the Colombian government representative for the
facilitation of the negotiations for the HE accord. Córdoba is an
opposition leader from the Liberal Party, who has been quite vocal linking
Uribe’s close government allies to paramilitary forces.
Senator Córdoba then invited President Chávez to be part of the
effort. Chávez, who had volunteered himself for it, gladly accepted. Uribe
approved these steps. To mediate effectively, the facilitators would have to
meet with the FARC secretariat. To take the first step toward starting these
talks, Senator Córdoba met with FARC spokesperson Raúl Reyes on Sept.
15.
Both Chávez and Córdoba gave priority to HE negotiations.
Córdoba went to Caracas, to Paris and to Washington, where she met with
FARC members Simón Trinidad and Sonia, both held in U.S. prisons. Both
Trinidad and Sonia graciously told the senator that they should be removed from
the list of those to be exchanged if their presence on it would interfere with
the HE.
Both Chávez and Córdoba met with FARC envoys in Caracas and also went
to Europe to meet with Sarkozy. Great advances were reported. Relatives of the
guerillas in prison and of those held by the FARC were grateful that for the
first time a serious attempt was being made to negotiate and arrange for the
freedom of their loved ones. Colombians reported a tremendous sense of hope
permeating the country.
During the Latin American Summit held in Chile at the beginning of November,
Chávez pleaded with Uribe to be more flexible. Though Uribe had approved
the negotiations, he was setting strict limits. Uribe vehemently refused to
clear (demilitarize) a space in Colombia so the negotiations could take place
safely without the military’s interference, as the FARC had demanded.
In mid-November, Uribe underlined his intransigence, setting a deadline of Dec.
31 for the negotiations. It was unreasonable to believe that armed conflict in
existence for more than 40 years could suddenly provide for such a speedy and
important action. Even Chávez mentioned many times the difficulties in
communicating with the FARC, due to the intense Colombian army bombing of the
jungle where the guerrillas are.
U.S. orders a halt to HE
Two days later, on Nov. 21, in an interesting but tragic turn of events, U.S.
former ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield, who had been accredited as
ambassador to Colombia only on Sept. 12, publicly stated, “We are two
months and 22 days into this process and we still have no proof of life,”
A few hours later, Uribe unilaterally announced that the negotiations were
suspended and both Córdoba and Chávez were dismissed.
The excuse used by Uribe was a 30-second phone conversation between Chávez
and Colombian Army General Mario Montoya. Uribe claimed that
Chávez’s call to Montoya was a breach of protocol. In reality,
Córdoba had placed the call as part of many she had made to Montoya in an
effort to mediate.
Imagine the relatives’ abrupt loss of hope, and by extension, that of the
people in Colombia who want peace. And the international community that stands
in solidarity with the struggling and courageous Colombian masses. Even Sarkozy
urged Uribe to reconsider.
The relatives of those held by the FARC responded to Uribe’s announcement
with harsh criticism. An article in the Nov. 23 Washington Post reports that,
“Jo Rosano, mother of Marc Gonsalves, one of the Americans, blamed Uribe,
saying he had undercut the mediation efforts by Chávez and Colombian Sen.
Piedad Córdoba, a leftist who is close to Chávez.”
“This is not the first time that he’s sabotaged this, and it
won’t be the last,” Rosano said from her home in Connecticut.
“Shame on him is all I can say. The eyes of the world are on
him.”
Colombia-Venezuela relations
in crisis
Chávez criticized Uribe’s decision, stating that this unilateral
pronunciation was not what was agreed to before. He questioned Uribe’s
sincerity about reaching peace in Colombia. He also accused imperialist
interference of bringing about this sudden ending.
Uribe answered with his fiercest attack so far against Chávez, accused him
of pursuing an “expansionist project” for Latin America and saying
that Colombia will “close its doors” to it. He also accused
Chávez of “not wanting peace for Colombia but rather that Colombia
be a victim of a FARC terrorist government.”
As of Nov. 27, the Venezuelan government has recalled its ambassador to
Colombia for consultation. Chávez has also said that trade with Colombia
might be affected.
And in the wildest turn of events, the Colombian Supreme Court cited Senator
Córdoba for “treason to the Homeland” because she met with
FARC representatives in her effort to mediate a HE.
This is happening at a time when the scandal of the paramilitary links of
Uribe’s allies in government is at its height in Colombia.
This is also just a few days before a crucial constitutional referendum in
Venezuela on Dec. 2. There is ample mass support for the referendum. Through
the funding of NGO’s that fuel the viciousness of the opposition groups,
Washington is intervening, aiding the much-publicized
“students’” demonstrations against the referendum. These
“students” are really the wealthy, business and religious
representatives of the oligarchy and their children.
The mass, magnificent pro-Chávez rallies have been ignored by the
corporate media, both in Venezuela and in the imperialist countries.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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