Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Colombia: What the hey, Santos?

First Santos is named in the Odebrecht corruption scandal.

Now he’s thanking Ecuador’s Rafael Correa for his support in the “peace” process

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday reiterated his thanks to his Ecuadorian counterpart and host, Rafael Correa, for the latter’s support of Bogota’s peace process with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas.

“Many thanks for all the support that you have been giving us, support in the peace process. Your generosity, your vision, your commitment to peace in the region and peace in Colombia is something that we will never forget,” said Santos upon his arrival in the city of Guayaquil to meet with his Ecuadorian colleague.

Correa said that it was “an honor” to welcome the Nobel Peace Prize winner, a recognition – he said – that was “well deserved for being the author of peace in your beloved Colombia and in the region.”

“You know you can count on us,” said Correa, adding that “Ecuador is the facilitator and guarantor of this negotiation process. I hope it has resounding success and seals a comprehensive peace in our beloved Colombia.”

What precipitated the lovefest?

On Feb. 7, the Colombian government and the ELN in Quito began an historic dialogue with an eye toward ending the confrontation they have pursued for more than 52 years, after the peace accord signed on Nov. 24 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Ecuador’s presidential election is next Sunday. The Ecuadorean Opposition Looks Ahead to Second Round to Build Coalition.

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Colombia & Peru: Presidents and Odebrecht

 

Santos on the left, Toledo center, two other men

Andrea Zarate reports on how the Odebrecht Corruption Scandal Ensnares Leaders of Peru and Colombia, specifically Toledo of Peru,

Peruvian prosecutors accused the former president, Alejandro Toledo, of accepting $20 million in bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in exchange for infrastructure contracts, including the rights to build a highway connecting Peru to Brazil.

and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner Santos of Colombia,

In Colombia, prosecutors said Tuesday that President Juan Manuel Santos’s re-election campaign in 2014 might have received about $1 million from Odebrecht, according to The Associated Press. The country’s top prosecutor, Nelson Martinez, said the donations had come through a third party working on behalf of the company, The A.P. reported. Mr. Santos did not comment.

As you may recall, Odebrecht allegedly had a department in charge of bribing officials around the world.  It appears they were very thorough.

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Colombia: No pardon for Simon Trinidad

El Tiempo reports that there will be no presidential pardon for FARC leader Ricardo Palmera a.k.a. Simón Trinidad, who is currently serving a 60-year sentence at the Florence ADX US Penitentiary for the execution of American Vietnam Veteran and Bronze Star recipient Thomas Janis, and the kidnapping and torture of Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes.

Julián Villabona Galarza explains,

Although Obama has the legal authority to grant a pardon Trinidad, due to special executive powers in the American legal system, he will not exercise his powers on this occasion, according to reporter Sergio Gómez Maseri, who is the Washington correspondent for El Tiempo, and who had first hand information from a United States government source.

Colombian president Santos reportedly had been pressuring Washington to release the terrorist Trinidad to appease the FARC, which he later denied.

In other FARC news, French president François Hollande to visit FARC encampment on official Colombia trip

Hollande will visit Colombia between the 22 and 24 of January, when he is expected to visit a guerilla demobilization site in Cauca province.

“Hollande, the president of France who cannot confront jihadist terrorism, will visit a Colombia handed over to the FARC.”

Hollande’s visit is yet one more step towards legitimizing the FARC’s ascension to political power.

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Colombia: Santos-Francis-Uribe meeting UPDATED

Last Friday Juan Manuel Santos and Alvaro Uribe met at the Vatican with Pope Francis to discuss the so-called peace agreement with the FARC.

“The Santos and Uribe boys, please go to the principal’s office”

It was part of Santos’s Nobel Peace Prize Victory Tour™, which so far includes pressuring the Spanish government to censor advertising billboards.

The WSJ reports,

Pope Francis Tries to Mend Colombian Rift Over Peace Accord With FARC. Pontiff holds meeting with President Juan Manuel Santos and his political rival, Álvaro Uribe (emphasis added)

The pope first held separate private meetings with each of the two men. Then the three met for an encounter in which Mr. Santos and his rival sat side by side across a desk from the pope. The arrangement was unusual because it seemed to suggest equal standing between Mr. Uribe and Mr. Santos, a head of state.

The Holy See said the pontiff “spoke about the ‘culture of encounter’ and emphasized the importance of sincere dialogue between all members of Colombian society at this historical moment.”

But it was clear that Mr. Uribe maintained his tough stance against the accord, which he says amounts to granting impunity by permitting former FARC commanders to hold 10 seats in congress.

Uribe’s correct; the current deal, redrafted on December 1 and fast tracked by the Supreme Court on December 14, legitimizes the FARC and turns it into a political power.

Francis’s spokesman said he won’t go to Colombia until the peace agreement is “bulletproof.”

Uribe spoke to the media after the meeting,

“I summarized to Pope Francis the basic elements on which there are disagreements and told him I hope they are allowed to be changed”

Among the Twitter reactions:

“After talking to Santos // After talking to Uribe”



Post corrected for HTML error.

UPDATE:
Colombian media reports that Santos wanted to discuss the peace agreement with Pope Francis. Pope Francis thought it would be a great idea, and to have Uribe join them. The Vatican sent a plane to fetch Alvaro Uribe, who flew in, attended the meeting, did not give into pressure, and flew back home right away.

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Colombia: Supreme Court “fast tracks” FARC deal

I couldn’t post on this earlier,
Colombia approves fast-track application of peace deal with FARC, granting president Santos special powers,

The peace deal was approved on December 1 by the Congress, which then proposed the fast track measure, also known as the “Special Legislative Procedure for Peace”.

The fast track procedure grants President Juan Manuel Santos, who spearheaded the peace drive, special powers to “facilitate and assure the peace agreements”, the news agency said.

It also calls for shorter or fewer legislative debates to speed up the adoption of the reform.

Former president Uribe points out (link in Spanish) that the Fast Track provision should have only come into effect if the so-called peace agreement was approved by plebiscite, which it wasn’t. He also notes that this ruling establishes a dangerous precedent, as the Supreme Court yields to pressure from both Congress and the FARC.

Santos basks in the afterglow of last week’s Nobel Peace Prize. His government wants Spain to censor billboards.

Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.

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The Colombian government is upset over the Madrid billboard featuring the Brazilian actor

A Madrid billboard featuring a Brazilian actor starring on an American series about a Colombian drug lord is causing a stir during president Santo’s Nobel Peace Prize triumphant tour.

The billboard says, “Oh, White Christmas.”

Colombia calls on Madrid to take down “offensive” Narcos poster. Authorities in South American country say downtown hoarding damages reputation of nation

On Tuesday, the government of Colombia joined the protests, with the country’s Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín asking Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmena to take down the poster.

Holguín, who is traveling with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos – currently on a European tour after accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in forging a peace deal with the guerilla group FARC – brought up the ad at a press conference in Madrid.

The minister said that Colombian Ambassador Alberto Furmanski has been in touch with Madrid authorities about taking down the sign because of the negative image it portrays about the Latin American nation.

Blaming the country’s negative image on Netflix must be the new “kill the messenger.”

Ms Holguín’s efforts at polishing Colombia’s image, however, are a good deflection from the fact that Santos’s latest “peace” deal will place unelected members of the world’s largest narco-terrorist organization in the Colombian congress.

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Colombia: Santos rides his Nobel Prize

He got what he was after, and now he’s free to ignore the will of the electorate:
Colombia’s President Hopes Nobel Prize Momentum Pushes Peace Deal to Finish Line

After four years of negotiations, Mr. Santos won congressional approval for the pact with the rebels last month, just weeks after voters narrowly rejected an earlier version in a plebiscite. But to fully implement a pact that gives the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, seats in congress in exchange for disarming requires constitutional reforms that must be debated and voted on by lawmakers.

That promises to take months amid stiff opposition from a former president turned senator, Álvaro Uribe, who argues that the government is selling out to a group many consider a terrorist organization.

“This is total impunity,” Mr. Uribe said in a speech Friday from Washington, where he was lobbying against the pact.

Mr. Santos said the award has given him momentum to end the Western Hemisphere’s last major conflict, an effort he called “a ray of hope” for other war-torn countries in the world.
. . .
The president could receive another boost on Monday if Colombia’s Constitutional Court gives his government “fast track” powers to quickly approve vital reforms that are in the pact. That would ease implementation of the peace deal, which calls for the FARC to convert to a political party and for the government to create a special tribunal to investigate war atrocities.

Santos gave an interview in Oslo, after which Uribe sent a press release,

Article at The Economist:

The president had promised time and again that Colombian voters would have the last say in any agreement with the FARC. But after his defeat at the polls in October, Mr Santos was forced to choose between unpalatable options. Putting the updated terms to a new referendum risked a devastating second rejection. Instead, he settled for legislative passage. That eliminated the risk of a return to war, but also meant the pact will lack the democratic reinforcement of a formal seal of approval from voters.

Santos lied.

UPDATE:
Peace Agreement? FARC Accused of Violating Ceasefire for Third Time

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Colombia: FARC deal approved in Congress

The opposition walked out,

Colombian Congress Ratifies Peace Deal With FARC Rebels. Agreement introduces some 50 changes after Colombians narrowly rejected original accord in referendum last month. Money quote,

But the rebels refused to budge on a key opposition demand: a ban on rebel leaders allegedly responsible for human rights abuses running for office until after they’ve served time.

Santos will receive his Nobel Peace Prize on December 9.

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