Are the Democrats pushing Colombia away?

House leaders: ignoring U.S. allies in Colombia, claiming "friendship" with Syria.

The Americas Report has have been covering the most recent events in Colombia and Mr. Uribe’s efforts to get the funds necessary to continue with ‘Plan Colombia’ and to ratify a much expected Free Trade Agreement. But the Para-politics scandal in February 2007, which prompted the resignation of Colombia’s Foreign Minister María Consuelo Araujo, and which implicated several top ranking officials of the Uribe administration, has complicated U.S.-Colombia relations.

On January 26, 2007 we ran a full story on the importance of ratifying the FTA with Colombia and Perú.1 On February 23, 2007 we covered the ‘Paragate scandal’ in detail2 and on April, 2007 our Editor in Chief, Nancy Menges was asked to submit a statement for the hearing before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Relations on US-Colombia Relations. The hearing took place on April 24, 2007 and was held to consider continued funding for Plan Colombia and ratification of a free trade agreement between The United States and Colombia. The statement supported the recent accomplishments of the Uribe Administration in demobilizing the paramilitaries and encouraged members of Congress to move forward with Plan Colombia and FTA.3

In these reports we have concluded that "Over the course of many years, the United States has been trying to get the cooperation of Colombia to combat narcotics trafficking and the free trade agreements were promised as a sign of recognition for their success on this front. No one can deny Uribe’s success since he has enacted tough policies to confront not only drug-trafficking but also the terrorist group inside Colombia, known as the FARC which is greatly responsible for the narcotic trafficking problem in South America. The Colombian FTA must be approved by the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees before they can be considered by the full Congress. The midterm U.S. elections that gave the Democrats control of Congress in January 2007, have delayed the much anticipated ratifications. President George W. Bush and his advisors are aware that these agreements are not just about trade. Latin America, under the leadership of Hugo Chavez, is radically turning towards the left, posing a threat to the stability of the region with Venezuela forming dangerous alliances with China, Russia, Syria and Iran. Since Alvaro Uribe became President of Colombia, the FARC has been expelled from the populated Bogotá – Medellín – Cali triangle. For the first time in years, Colombians can drive between most of the country’s cities without risk of abduction or extortion."4

Sadly, some Democrats in Congress and in the top echelons of US politics don’t seem to get the picture. Sen. Patrick Leahy , Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee dealing with foreign aid, last month held up $55.2 million in military aid to Colombia stating: "I have withheld the release of those funds because I – and other Members of Congress – are concerned about reports of paramilitary infiltration of the Colombian government and military, as well as extrajudicial executions by the military.5

According to Robert Novak, during Uribe’s most recent visit to the US, "Hopes that the Democratic majority in Congress might perceive the importance of supporting Colombia were dashed April 20 when Al Gore canceled a joint appearance with Uribe at an environmental event in Miami. Gore cited allegations of Uribe’s association with paramilitary forces a decade ago, charges vehemently denied by the Colombian president. Gore’s snub legitimized what the new congressional majority seems intent on doing. Democrats follow both left-wing human rights lobbyists and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney’s protectionist campaign against the Colombian free-trade agreement. Rep. Sander Levin, Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, as usual echoes labor’s line against the bill. In the wake of Uribe’s visit to Washington, two prominent House Republicans — former speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking minority member of the Foreign Affairs Committee — made a quick trip to Colombia. Visiting there for the first time in many years, they were struck by the progress. They met with Colombian national police who had just returned from Afghanistan, where they advised NATO forces on techniques for dealing with narco-terrorists."6

Regarding Nancy Pelosi, Novak states "Uribe got nothing from his meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders. After the meeting, Ms. Pelosi issued a written statement: "Many of us [Democrats] expressed our growing concerns about the serious allegations of connections between illegal paramilitary forces and a number of high-ranking Colombian officials."7 Uribe went home nearly empty-handed since military aid remains stalled, overall assistance is reduced, and the vital U.S.-Colombian trade bill looks dead. Uribe is the first Colombian president to crack down on his country’s corrupt army officer hierarchy and to assault both right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing guerrillas, but last week he confronted Democrats wedded to outdated claims of civil rights abuses and rigidly protectionist dogma. This is remarkable U.S. treatment for a rare friend in South America, where Venezuela’s leftist dictator, Hugo Chávez, can only exult in Uribe’s embarrassment as he builds an anti-American bloc of nations."8

Many Democrats seem unaware of the fact that although many of those implicated come from Mr. Uribe’s Conservative Party, (his former intelligence chief is under investigation), Uribe has not been charged with any wrongdoing . Quite the contrary, it was under his administration that more than 30,000 right-wing paramilitary fighters were demobilized last year. This initiative has facilitated the current investigations, which Mr. Uribe and his government have supported and funded.9 In addition, Democrats should consider the fact that, despite the scandal, Uribe supporters in Colombia have rallied around their president. An opinion poll released this week showed that Uribe has an approval rating of 80.4%, up from 73% a month ago.

Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Calderón recently said in a television interview that failure to ratify the free-trade agreement would "send a message to the external enemies of the United States" (meaning Venezuela’s Chávez) that "this is how America treats its allies." He added that Colombia might "have to reevaluate its relationship with the United States." He did not specify how Colombia might revise relations with the United States, its top trade partner and source of billions of dollars in military and counter-narcotics aid to help Bogotá fight leftist guerrillas and drug traffickers.10

We believe that it is of utmost importance to help our allies and honor our commitments, especially with respect to Colombia’s Uribe who has been working very hard to destroy terrorism, even though his life has been threatened many times, install free markets, and make his country a more stable place to live. A few years ago this was hard to imagine. The stock market has gone up 500% since he’s taken office. The debt has been repaid early, the peso is soaring, unemployment is down one-third since he took office, foreign and domestic investment has skyrocketed and Colombians have regained confidence and are optimistic about the future. The economy grew at 5% last year and crime has nearly evaporated.

It is hard to understand the Democrats’ ‘strategy’ towards Latin America. Nancy Pelosi criticized President Uribe but had no problem traveling to Syria to meet President Bashar al-Assad. According to the "The American Spectator", Pelosi is planning a visit to Venezuela to meet with Hugo Chávez — one of the world’s most outspoken enemies of the United States, and apparently is planning to travel to Iran.11 Why snub Mr. Uribe, who has been doing everything he can to fight drug trafficking and terrorism and has been a loyal ally of the US and show interest in approaching Mr. Chavez instead? Why embrace Syria, who is an enemy of this country and sponsors terrorism, or Iran? If these prominent Democrats continue with this attitude towards Colombia and other allies, it could certainly send mixed messages to other countries who might be rethinking their alliances in the region, a potentially dangerous situation considering Chávez’s eagerness to win over friends to advance his so-called ‘Revolution.’

NOTES

1 "The Americas Report" January 26, 2007. /modules/newsmanager/center%20publication%20pdfs/americas%20report%20january%2026,%202007.pdf

2 "The Americas Report" February 23, 2007. /home.aspx?sid=56&categoryid=56&subcategoryid=91&newsid=11574

3 "The Americas Report" April 25, 2007. /modules/newsmanager/center%20publication%20pdfs/the%20americas%20report%20april%2025%202007.pdf

4 "The Americas Report" January 26, 2007. /modules/newsmanager/center%20publication%20pdfs/americas%20report%20january%2026,%202007.pdf

5 Colombian Seeks to Persuade Congress to Continue Aid. April 30, 2007. The New York Times.

6 How to Lose an Ally. By Robert Novak. May 10th, 2007. The Washington Post.

7 Pelosi le expresa a Uribe su preocupación por escándalo de la ‘parapolítica.’ May 3, 2007. Radio Caracol, Colombia.

8 How to Lose an Ally. By Robert Novak. May 10th, 2007. The Washington Post.  

9 Pelosi le expresa a Uribe su preocupación por escándalo de la ‘parapolítica.’ May 3, 2007. Radio Caracol, Colombia.

10 Colombia says may review US ties without trade deal. May 8, 2007. Reuters.

11 Nancy Plays Hard to Get. The American Spectator. April 27, 2007.