Thanks, but no thanks

 

 

The meteoric rise of Hugo Chavez as a sensible and a responsible alternative in a unipolar world got some major jolt last month with the decision of Colombia to remove the Venezuelan President from the role of key mediator in the ongoing negotiation with the dreaded FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), a terrorist organisation, for the release of the 47 people held hostage for many years now. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has alleged that the main motive of Chavez was not the release of the hostages but expansionism within Colombia. The office of the President of Colombia stated, "President Uribe expressed to President Chavez that if FARC were to release first some of those kidnapped, committing to the release of all those kidnapped, the meeting between President Chavez and Manuel Marulanda could be held at a location within Colombia, even in the Caguan area as President Chavez requested, to initiate a successful peace process." The Colombian government was taken by surprise when President Chavez disclosed this issue in Paris because it understood that this was a negotiation element to be "handled in confidence." In response to this Chavez, in his usual style, has reacted angrily and annulled all the bilateral and economic ties with Colombia. This came on the heels of a similar spat with Spain after which Chavez froze ties with Spain too.

For long FARC has been one of the most organised and dreaded guerilla organisations in the world and is one of the few which has a secure source of revenue to continue with its armed conflict through its cultivation of cocaine and its supply to some of the most lucrative markets in the world including that of the US. Reports state that the total area under cultivation of cocaine by FARC is estimated to be more than 140,000 hectares. FARC has its own well oiled militia which has been waging a war against Colombia for nearly four decades now the toll of which has been disastrous for the Colombian economy. FARC has been trying to swap the 47 hostages with one of its key leaders, Ricardo Palmera Pineda, now in US jail after he was extradited by US from Colombia and has been convicted of conspiracy of kidnapping in US court.

Much of Chavez’s resentment against the present Colombian regime stems from the fact that it is pro-US and in the recent past the signing of a free trade agreement with the US has helped Colombia to bring some sort of parity in its otherwise turbulent economy. Chavez and Bogota would do well to bury differences and work together because otherwise it only helps the likes of FARC.