Kevin GisiIf they were not presidents of nations, Hugo Chavez would most likely want to punch Alvaro Uribe, and Uribe would in turn like to kick Rafael Correa.
Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela are neighbor countries in South America and are similar in culture and history. Instead of uniting over these similarities and trying to better the region, they are in a continuous verbal war. If they used the same energy they waste shooting bad words at each other to work together to fight poverty and corruption, they would no longer be considered third world countries.
Who is right? Is it worth it? Nobody knows. Although we all know they are jeopardizing the relationships between South American countries, Columbia is the only affected society.
March 1, 2009: Colombia screamed in happiness, Raúl Reyes was dead.
Reyes was one of the most important leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), before being murdered by the Colombian National Military Army. Reyes was chased for a substantial amount of time on the grounds of being charged for kidnapping and murdering. He was murdered last year in the middle of the night, while he was sleeping in a camp of the insurgent group in Ecuador territory. This is the beginning of a complicated and problematic relationship between Colombia and Ecuador.
On one side, there is Uribe, the president of Colombia, the one who let us know from the very beginning of his presidency that his objective is to eliminate the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). No matter how, when, or where. He is doing just that. The security police army found where Reyes was, and it was Uribe’s opportunity to catch him. They bombarded him from the air and attacked him on land. All of this took place while Reyes was in Ecuador.
On the other side, there is Correa, the president of Ecuador, who is full of anger and indignity. Correa unleashed a serious diplomatic war that is still taking place between the two countries. Who wouldn’t get mad if someone broke into your house and destroyed your backyard? Or even worse, hurt your kids?
Uribe didn’t care about Correa’s reaction, though. He had accomplished one of the biggest points in his government and one of the worst in the FARC history. Immediately, Correa brought back the ambassador of Ecuador in Colombia, kicked out the Colombians in Ecuador, mobilized troops to the border and requested for an extraordinary meeting of the OEA, CAN and MERCOSUR – institutions for the Latin-American integration.
So far, it seems like this is a bilateral concern between Ecuador and Colombia, but Venezuela is involved as well. Chavez thinks he has the right to get involved in all South American issues and impose his revolutionary ideology as the best solution. My opinion . Mr. President, be concerned with your own business; first fix your country, and then help us.
Chavez says that Colombia is risking the security of the continent, based on the fact that the Colombian government will do the same thing that happened in Ecuador to each country in the region, telling his equivalents to be aware about Colombian actions.
Uribe claims that the entire region has to be helpful in the war against terrorism, and what happened in Ecuador was an act of “legitimate defense.” However, several pieces of evidence have shown that maybe he must work alone in order to combat terrorism; the evidence has proven that Correa and Chavez have relations and nexus with the FARC.
Let me show you:
1. In the FARC’s camp Raúl Reyes’ laptop was found. It confirmed close relationships between Ecuador and Venezuela’s governments with this terrorist group through e-mails and Word documents.
2. On May 30 of this year, the police caught a female “guerrillera” in Bogotá with a large number of flash drives. The police checked the information on them and found a 15-minute video of “Mono Jojoy” – leader of the FARC. In this video, the terrorist boss talked about the economic contribution from the insurgent group to Correa’s political presidential campaign.
3. On July 27 of this year, Colombia’s military found rocket launchers in FARC’s hands. Those dangerous weapons were made in Sweden and sold to Venezuela. Why are they in Colombia? I think you can figure it out.
4. Last but not least, Correa and Chavez have publicly said that the FARC are not terrorists. What a subjective and peculiar opinion. Perhaps they think that to be considered a terrorist they have to detonate more bombs, commit more murders and kidnap more people. Not just thousands, millions.
These serious revelations make questionable the commitment of these governments – Ecuador and Venezuela – to put an end to terrorism. Actually, they are supporting it. How would Spain or Ireland react if they found out that ETA and IRA are destroying the country with European neighbors’ contributions?
The FARC are considered terrorists for the European Union, United States, OEA, ONU and a large number of other countries and institutions all over the world.
As citizens, it is essential to know that we don’t have to be supporting of or agree with our presidents’ decisions. Let them know that the wars – although they are verbal – are detrimental and harmful. Let’s shout our thoughts and opinions; at some point they must hear the people who elected them.
