Moral victory for Simon Trinidad

A mistrial was declared on Nov. 21 in the case of the U.S. government against Simon Trinidad after jurors for a third time handed a note to the judge stating that they could not reach a unanimous decision. Trinidad had served as a peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

During the more than four weeks that Trinidad was being tried in federal court in Washington, D.C., the prosecution presented 21 witnesses and much audio-visual evidence. Chief Judge Thomas Hogan did not allow the defense to present expert witnesses who could explain the history and nature of the FARC and the role of the United States in Colombia, both issues crucial to the case, stating that would “confuse the jury and extend the hearing.”

The main witness for the defense was Trinidad himself, who testified for several days.

Trinidad was initially accused of kidnapping, terrorism and drug trafficking, this last charge to be heard at a separate trial in the near future. The five charges in the current trial were all related to the kidnapping accusation, which stems from a February 2003 incident in which a small surveillance plane flown by U.S. military contractors crash-landed in territory controlled by the insurgents in Caquetá, in the south of Colombia. The agents—Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves—have since been held captive by the FARC.

Even though Trinidad was not involved in the act—in fact, he was not even in the area—the prosecution tried in every way possible to show his association to the event and thus his “conspiracy” in the matter.

From the very opening of the trial, Judge Hogan clearly showed a bias towards the prosecution, giving the impression that he was presiding over a trial that could have only one outcome, the condemnation of Trinidad.

However, on Nov. 17, after hours of deliberation, the jury handed a note to Hogan that read in part, “We believe our differences to be sincerely based on deep thought and irresolvable.” Hogan refused to accept the outcome and instructed the jurors to continue arguing until they could return a unanimous verdict.

A second note was delivered to the judge on Nov. 20 declaring another deadlock. Instead of declaring a mistrial then, the judge pressured the jury to reach a consensus so that they could be “free” to return home for the “Thanksgiving” holiday. He had told the lawyers that in the case the jury deadlocked a second time, he would give them what in legal parlance is called the “dynamite charge” and ask those in the minority to reconsider their position. Eight members of the jury are African Americans.

Because the jury’s decision has to be unanimous, the judge had to declare a mistrial after the third impasse. Now two options are possible: to dismiss the case, or to try it again from the beginning.

Regardless of the final outcome, this is a moral victory for Simon Trinidad and the FARC. In spite of all the horrendous attempts to convince the jury of the “terrorist” nature of Trinidad and his organization—labeled as such by the U.S. government—a unanimous condemnation was not reached.

This trial was the first time that a Colombian insurgent, extradited from his country, had been tried in the United States. It marked a new road in Washington’s “antiterrorism” war.

It happened at the same time that “some types” of torture had been ruled legal by the U.S. Congress and when U.S. “secret” prisons hold an unknown number of people throughout the world, away from public scrutiny. By bringing Trinidad to the U.S. for trial, it also attempted to bypass the peoples’ movement for justice not only in Colombia, but in Latin America and the Middle East.

This is a critical time in Colombia, where the government is facing a real shake-up that, if furthered, could implicate its own president.

On the week of Nov. 13, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe rushed to the United States after the midterm elections here gave the Democrats control of Congress. Uribe wanted to make sure that the Democrats would continue the current U.S. policies of Plan Colombia and the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Since it was Democratic President Bill Clinton who initiated Plan Colombia, which has given Uribe over $3 billion in aid for the “war on drugs,” it is likely the policy will stay the same.

During the latest of his numerous visits to Washington, Uribe was very quick to comment on Trinidad’s case, saying that his conviction would in the end “bring peace.” FARC, on the other hand, has issued an open letter to intellectuals, artists and the people of the United States asking them to call on the Bush administration to help reach a prisoner exchange that would include the three U.S. agents and Trinidad.

But in Colombia, Uribe had to be pressed, even by representatives of the oligarchy, before he would comment on the current governmental scandal.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Colombian Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant against three legislators: Senators Álvaro García and Jairo Enrique Merlano and representative of the lower chamber Erik Julio Morris. Both García and Morris have surrendered to the authorities. They are charged with ties to the right-wing death squads, or paramilitaries—which the public has known for a long time.

The paramilitaries are responsible for drug trafficking and bloody massacres throughout the country. They all belong to the political party that nominated and elected Uribe, who by necessity will be implicated in the case. The investigation, which the progressive movement finds too slow, continues and more indictments are expected.

Uribe is not foreign to these accusations; in fact, he was number 82—Pablo Escobar was number 79—on former President George H.W. Bush’s list of members and associates of the Medellín cartel.

His inclusion on the list reads: “82. Álvaro Uribe Velez—a Colombian politician and senator dedicated to collaboration with the Medellín cartel at high government levels. Uribe was linked to a business involved in narcotics activities in the U.S. His father was murdered in Colombia for his connection with the narcotic traffickers. Uribe has worked for the Medellín cartel and is a close personal friend of Pablo Escobar Gaviria. He has participated in Escobar’s political campaign to win the position of Assistant Parliamentarian to Jorge (Ortega). Uribe has been one of the politicians from the senate who has attacked all forms of the extradition treaty.” (anncol.org, Nov. 15)