By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch News Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombians will be waiting for the presidential election results until after the June 15 runoff.  As of Friday, the presidential race was too close to call between President Juan Manuel Santos and his challenger Ivan Oscar Zuluaga.

Many believe that the outcome of the presidential race will determine the fate of the country’s half-century guerilla war.  President Santos has staked his reputation on peace talks between the Colombian government and the Marxist rebels.  Hoping that peace talks that began with the FARC rebels in 2012, being held in Cuba, will end the 50-year conflict.

Presidential candidate Zuluaga, wants to implement tougher conditions, fearing that President Santos is being too lenient with the rebels.  His appeal to voters has been that the talks could lead to little or no punishment for guerillas’ war crimes and hand them instant political power.

Imposing tougher conditions could cause the FARC to walk away, leaving a return to the military option the only alternative.  Colombians are desperate for peace, but both candidates are selling extremes, forcing Colombians to choose between handing over the government to the rebels, leaving war crimes unpunished and a potentially endless war.

Since the conflict began in May 1964 at least 220,000 people have died.  President Santos, 62 and Zuluaga, 55 are both economists.  The presidential rivals are former cabinet colleagues under former president Alvaro Uribe and both support free market economics and continued close ties with the United States.

Santos began as a comfortable favorite before Zuluaga surged with the backing of former president Uribe, who is still popular amongst Colombians.

In a Gallup poll the candidates were neck-and-neck, but two other surveys showed a clear lead to Zuluaga or Santos.

The Gallup poll on Thursday showed the candidates in a dead heat statistically given the margin of error, with 48.5 percent for Zuluaga versus 47.7 percent for the president.

On Friday, a Cifras y Conceptos poll showed 43.4 percent of voter respondents would vote for Santos and 38.5 percent for Zuluaga, while the research firm Ipsos Napoleon Franco reported 49 percent to Zuluaga and 41 percent to Santos.

Clara Lopes, a leftist candidate defeated in the first round of voting with 15 percent of first rounds votes, publicly placed her support behind Santos.

FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, widely known by his war alias TImochenko, scoffed at both candidates, releasing a lengthy statement this week, saying they are both warmongers.

“Colombians face a real dilemma, but its not that they must choose between war with Oscar Ivan Zuluaga and peace with Juan Manuel Santos.  It’s clear that either one of them represents war,” he said, calling for a “powerful coalitions” to the left to face whoever wins.

For more information, please see:

Reuters — Polls Show Cliffhanger Presidential Election in Colombia — 06 June 2014

Fecima — Polls Show Cliffhanger Presidential Election in Colombia — 06 June 2014

Newslocker — Polls Show Cliffhanger Presidential Election in Colombia — 06 June 2014

The Economist — Colombia’s Presidential Election: A Vote for Peace — 07 June 2014

by Mridula Tirumalasetti
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Colombia’s presidential candidate, Óscar Iván Zuluaga won the first round of voting on May 25 with 29.3 percent of the votes, ahead of President Juan Manuel Santos with 25.7 percent. Zuluaga will face Santos on June 15 in a run-off vote. In order to avoid a run-off vote in Colombia, Zuluaga would have had to win more than 50 percent of the votes. Polls show this has been the nation’s tightest election in years.

The most pressing issue of the campaign has been how to end the country’s 50-year conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a conflict which has claimed more than 215,000 lives. Santos has been negotiating with FARC in Cuba, and announced on May 16 that they had reached an agreement on three out of the five points, including land reform and political participation by the FARC. These negotiations have been said to bring the end of the fight against illegal drugs closer than ever.

Right-wing Zuluaga, who is backed by former President Álvaro Uribe, favors more of a military solution rather than peace talks. Zuluaga initially promised that, if elected, he would immediately suspend peace talks with FARC but has since softened his stance in exchange for Conservative Party leader, Marta Lucia Ramirez’s support in the run-off vote. Zuluaga has agreed to give FARC a chance to declare a ceasefire. In a speech after the first round of voting, Zuluaga said “The President of the Republic cannot and should not be manipulated by the FARC, the biggest drug cartel in the world today.” Zuluaga promised “a full-frontal assault on terrorism.” Santos has criticized Zuluaga’s acceptance of the idea of peace talks as hypocritical and “politicking.”

“Zuluaga’s triumph [in the first round] shows there’s an important part of society that doesn’t back the Havana talks,” said Alejo Vargas, who is a professor of political science at the National University. Some voters want a more firm approach when dealing with FARC. Voter Jhon Serrato said “You can’t just give them what they want, while they kill people.” Another voter, Lena Sanchez Rodriguez said “The office of the president has gotten weaker in the last four years” and “Santos doesn’t have a strong enough hand to deal with delinquents.”

Other voters such as Mariana Giraldo, support the Santos administration and the peace process. Giraldo said, “If there was a peace deal we would have more diplomatic agreements with other countries.”

A voter poll on Thursday, the first since Sunday’s first round of voting, showed Santos leading by one percent over Zuluaga. Still, almost 20 million of the 33 million registered voters did not vote. Additionally, approximately 800,000 voters voted a blank ballot in order to protest both of the candidates.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Zuluaga wins first round of Colombia election – 25 May 2014

The Wall Street Journal – Colombia President Santos to Face Zuluaga in Runoff Vote – 25 May 2014

Bloomberg – Zuluaga Leads Santos Ahead of Colombia Presidential Runoff – 26 May 2014

Reuters – Colombia’s Zuluaga softens on FARC peace talks ahead of run-off vote – 29 May 2014

 

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has stated that sanctions placed on Venezuela by the United States could cause his country to shut down its diplomatic missions in the U.S.

The measure, which has cleared the House of Representatives but faces a challenge in the Senate, could “lead to the point of not having an embassy or consulates in the United States, Maduro said Thursday.  However, Maduro has praised the Obama administration’s opposition to the bill, saying it has led him to name a new top diplomat in Washington.

The opposition to the bill Maduro is speaking of, is in response to comments by Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, who has again urged the U.S. Senate to vote against the bill.  Maduro said that he read the remarks “with great attention” and said that the remarks were a “leap toward good sense”.  These remarks sparked Maduro to name a new top diplomat in Washington.

The praise from Maduro, however slight, is a change in tide from the plethora of denunciations attributed to the U.S. by the Venezuelan President.  Following in his predecessor, and role model, President Hugo Chavez’s footsteps Maduro and his supporters have repeatedly accused Washington of trying to topple his government.  Maduro has blamed the U.S. for stirring up the protests in which at least 42 people have died since February.

This week, pro-Maduro Caracas Mayor Jorge Rodriguez announced that the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, Kevin Whitaker, was implicated in a plot to murder President Maduro.  This news was announced in the midst of an event where Rodriquez was speaking that included first lady Cilia Flores and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello.  Rodriguez requested that the U.S. government clarify if it knew of Whitaker’s alleged role or if Whitaker was acting without aid.

Jen Psaki, State Department spokeswoman, called the allegation baseless.

Amongst Maduro’s supporters is Russia.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, at a joint press conference with Elias Jaua, Venezuelan Foreign Minister, “[a]ll the problems (of a country) must be solved under the Constitution, without outside interference, or even sanctions or threats of sanctions.”  Lavrov added, “[w]e have endorsed our solidarity with the government of Nicolás Maduro, and his determination to both overcome certain difficulties facing Venezuela and engage in dialogue (…) with the opposition.”

Maximilien Sanchez Arvelaiz, former Venezuelan ambassador to Brazil, has been named as Maduro’s new top diplomat in Washington.  In February, Maduro named Sanchez Arvelaiz to fill the vacant ambassadorship in Washington, but U.S. officials have not acted on the proposal.

For more information, please see:

El Universal — Russia Takes Issue with US because of Sanctions on Venezuela — 29 May 2014

ABC News — Venezuela Leader Praises US Rejection of Sanctions — 30 May 2014

The Washington Post — Venezuela Leader Praises US Rejection of Sanctions — 30 May 2014

Monterey Herald News — US Slow to Back Sanctions on Venezuela — 21 May 2014