insurrección

Colombia's Machiavellian President looks to save himself and his political allies

Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe gestures as he speaks during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the founding of the Nueva Granada Military University in Bogota, May 6, 2008. REUTERS/John Vizcaino (COLOMBIA)

By Garry Leech

Colombia Journal

May 13, 2008

In the early hours of May 13, Colombian security forces transported 14 high-ranking paramilitary leaders from their prison cells to an aircraft that whisked them out of the country and to the United States. Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe had ordered that the paramilitary leaders be extradited to face drug trafficking charges in the United States because, as Interior Minister Carlos Holgumn stated, “In some cases they were still committing crimes and reorganizing criminal structures” from their prison cells. The paramilitary leaders were engaged in a demobilization process that called for them to confess their crimes in return for reduced jail sentences. In their testimonies, several paramilitary leaders revealed links between the right-wing militia organization and elected officials and multinational corporations. By extraditing the paramilitary leaders, President Uribe has ensured that they will do no further harm to himself and his political allies as he has effectively stymied future investigations into the so-called para-politics scandal...

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