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Peace or lead in Colombia

2019-09-06T03:31:25.482Z


[OPINION] If we use the phrase "silver or lead" attributed to Pablo Escobar, we could say that the dilemma in all aspects is "peace or lead," says Pedro Brieger.


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This television capture taken from YouTube and launched on September 4, 2019 shows ex-commanders of the rebel group of the FARC rebel army in Colombia, Iván Márquez and the fugitive Jesús Santrich (with sunglasses), in an undisclosed location. (Credit: AFP / Getty Images)

Editor's Note: Pedro Brieger is an Argentine journalist and sociologist, author of more than seven books and contributor to publications on international issues. He currently serves as director of NODAL, a portal dedicated exclusively to the news of Latin America and the Caribbean. He collaborated with different national media such as Clarín, El Cronista, La Nación, Página / 12, Profile and for magazines such as News, Somos, Le Monde Diplomatique and Panorama. Throughout his career, Brieger won important awards for his informative work on Argentine radio and television.

(CNN Spanish) - The decision of a group of former FARC guerrillas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to retake their arms seems to have moved the Colombian population much more than the constant murders of social leaders or candidates for municipal elections and Regional of the month of October.

It is logical somewhere; the violence of the different guerrillas were - and still are - a hard part of the daily life of the citizens, who perceive in anguish the possible regrowth of a large-scale war. In any case, it was the president of Colombia, Iván Duque, who - through an article in The Washington Post - assured the world that it is “a small number of criminals” whom he described as “narcoterrorists” and “Gang that has been encouraged, protected and supported in Venezuela by the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro”, interested in “continuing with its drug trafficking activities”.

Beyond considering that Venezuela is behind this rearmament - and that from Caracas emphatically deny - two elements can be highlighted in the president's sayings. On the one hand, it is only a small group that decides to rise again in arms. With this statement he endorsed the sayings of the main leaders of the FARC party that claim to represent the majority of demobilized guerrillas, in addition to "feeling shame" and apologizing to the Colombian people and the international community for the group that resolved to resume the armed struggle . On the other, the link that this new group would have with drug trafficking, as if the drug issue in this country were patrimony of the guerrillas. Colombia has been the world's first cocaine producer for many years and the fight for its production and export to the United States has involved numerous sectors of society, which explains much of the violence that has lasted for years. It is worth remembering that in the past decade more than 60 members of Congress were condemned for their links with the paramilitaries and drug trafficking, and they were not exactly guerrilla supporters.

Looking ahead to the October regional elections, the Electoral Observation Mission - MOE - pointed out that from the beginning of the electoral calendar eleven months ago until the end of August this year, 364 social and community political leaders were victims of violence, including murder of 91 of them.

Violence in Colombia is not unidirectional and has many variables. But if we use the phrase "silver or lead" attributed to drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, we could say that the dilemma in all aspects is "peace or lead."

FarcIván DuqueNarcotrafficking

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-09-06

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