2) Plan Colombia and Beyond has a four minute video of Alvaro Uribe speaking in Spanish with English subtitles about peace activists and journalists that dare to oppose the government line. This type of interview is common in Colombia but rarely reaches the wider, Enlgish-speaking world. The ease in which Uribe connects anyone against his governmental line with the word “terrorist” is chilling, especially considering his government’s appalling record on human rights. Equally interesting is how, in 2006, he claims to be on the brink of bringing down the far right wing paramilitary organizations. Anyone visiting the northeastern coca growing regions today will know differently.
3) More Plan Colombia and Beyond. Here’s the moneyline from this article:
“…..Colombian leader chose to speak about local issues like Families in Action [an economic subsidy program] and successes against the FARC. After a few minutes, some of the meeting’s organizers observed with alarm that Timothy Geithner, the U.S. treasury secretary, chose to disconnect himself from the simultaneous translation feed.“
Fading influence, anyone?
4) After noting earlier this week that the Bolivia actions in targetting the transporters of drugs is working well, here’s a note from Colombia Journal that shows how Uribe is still barking up the wrong tree in his attempt to stamp out Colombia’s biggest export business.