John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for the November presidential election, will travel to Cartagena, Colombia on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Why, in the midst of a hotly contested campaign season, might McCain want to leave the country and go to Colombia?
The most likely answer is one word: Florida.
Florida is the biggest “swing state,” as the world saw clearly in 2000. And one of its chief “swing” constituencies are Latino voters.
Many of these Latino voters are people who left their home countries after leftists came to power: Cubans who fled Castro; Venezuelans who flocked to Dade and Broward counties after Chávez was elected; even middle-and-upper-class Colombians who abandoned their country in the late 1990s, when the FARC’s strength made the security situation too precarious.
Needless to say, anybody who fits those descriptions likely adores Colombian President Ãlvaro Uribe, the polar opposite of Castro and Chávez whose policies have reduced the FARC’s ability to operate in populated areas. So if you’re John McCain, why not spend a couple of days with Uribe to win that voting bloc’s favor?
Plus, Florida is a state that trades heavily with Latin America. In Florida – unlike Ohio or Michigan – support for the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is high. For McCain, visiting Colombia is a sure way to distinguish his position on the FTA from that of Barack Obama, who opposes it, before a Floridian audience.
For Senator McCain, visiting Colombia is a smart electoral move.
His visit also reinforces Ãlvaro Uribe’s position as one of the last great hopes of the global right wing. In the United States, a mixture of military buildups and free-market orthodoxy has contributed to George Bush’s sub-30% approval rating. But in Colombia, a similar combination has propelled Uribe’s numbers into the stratosphere.
Over the years, Senator McCain’s office has not been particularly responsive to Colombia-focused appeals from organizations like the Center for International Policy. Senator McCain has declined to sign even the most respectfully worded letters and appeals expressing human rights concerns. When we have hosted visits from Colombian human-rights defenders, hostages’ families and others, his staff has never responded positively to meeting requests.
As a result, it makes little sense to recommend that Senator McCain, while in Colombia, express concerns about impunity, threats against human-rights defenders, para-politics, extra-judicial executions or the frustrating failure of counter-drug efforts. Since McCain has scheduled meetings with U.S. business and oil-company executives, his agenda appears to be quite the opposite.
There are, however, a few recommendations within the realm of what Senator McCain might follow. In particular, there are several ways that Senator McCain might send a message that his policy toward Colombia, and Latin America in general, will be more than just – as the Obama camp puts it – “Bush’s third term.”
Here are four.
- Send a message of solidarity to the FARC’s three U.S. hostages. Keith Stansell, Thomas Howes and Marc Gonsalves have been in guerrilla custody, deep in Colombia’s jungles, since February 2003. According to recently freed Colombian hostage Luis Eladio Pérez, who spent more than a year chained with them in 2006-2008, the three men feel abandoned and forgotten by the U.S. government.
According to Pérez, they are avid radio listeners, and they took it hard when President Bush and Secretary of State Rice visited Colombia in 2007 and 2008 and failed to offer any message of support or solidarity. Neither U.S. leader mentioned the men by name, and they only discussed their situation at all in answer to reporters’ questions.
Senator McCain, please do not repeat that error. Mention the three Americans publicly by name, and assure them that they are not forgotten. They will hear you.
- Express a willingness to explore shifting U.S. drug policy in a more humane – and effective – direction. Ignoring problems with drug policy while visiting Cartagena would be the very definition of whistling past the graveyard. Cartagena is the capital of Colombia’s department of BolÃvar, which in 2007 ranked eighth among the country’s thirty-two departments in the number of acres planted with coca, the plant used to make cocaine. Coca-growing increased by 136 percent in BolÃvar from 2006 to 2007.
Meanwhile, as this map of maritime drug-trafficking shows, Cartagena and its immediate environs are a frequent point of origin for “go-fast” boats shipping cocaine from Colombia to the United States.
Something rotten is clearly going on just outside the city walls of old Cartagena. Senator McCain would do well to acknowledge it and pledge to help Colombia do away with it in a way that Plan Colombia could not. That would mean combating poverty, statelessness and especially impunity. It would be a mistake to promise more of the same fumigation and other military-and-police-focused counter-drug efforts.
- While praising President Uribe, tread lightly on Colombia’s institutions. Senator McCain’s visit is occurring within the context of an increasingly vicious political battle between President Uribe and Colombia’s Supreme Court. The outcome of this struggle could determine whether Uribe gets to run for an unprecedented third consecutive term in office in 2010, to what extent the separation of powers will be maintained in Colombia’s democracy, and whether the country’s fragile judicial institutions can withstand an assault by a popular president. As this week’s edition of the Colombian newsweekly Semana puts it, Uribe is currently “putting the country’s institutionality in check.”
With last Friday’s call for a referendum on the 2006 elections, Uribe’s presidency is at a key crossroads. Will he go the Fujimori route – putting personalism above rule of law – or will he stick to constitutional democracy? Senator McCain must realize that he is visiting at an especially delicate moment, and that the country’s institutions need a far bigger outside boost than the popular president does.
- While in Cartagena, share a stage – or at least a camera frame – with brave people who are working to make a difference. Three possibilities:
- Marine Colonel Rafael Colón. Colonel Colón headed the marine battalion in the nearby town of Corozal, Sucre, until 2006. In part because he reportedly had a family member killed by paramilitaries, Colonel Colón commanded his troops not to tolerate the strong paramilitary presence in the Montes de MarÃa region, to Cartagena’s immediate southwest. This allowed an unusual opening in the area, in which victims began to come forward and identify the locations of dozens of mass graves in which the paramilitaries had buried their massacre victims during the past ten years.
On June 19, Colonel Colón spoke at an event in the town of El Carmen del BolÃvar, in the Montes de MarÃa region a short drive from Cartagena. There, he asked the population’s pardon for the many paramilitary massacres in the zone that took place due to the security forces’ “neglect.” Colonel Colón’s words drew a sharp rebuke from the commander of the Colombian Navy’s Caribbean Force. But he is right, and Senator McCain could help reinforce that with a few words during his visit to Cartagena.
- Cartagena Mayor Judith Pinedo. Mayor Pinedo won a surprise electoral victory last October when she ran on a platform of defeating the corrupt political machine that has systematically stolen from Cartagena’s treasury. As Semana put it on Sunday, “the mayor had begun to reveal an immense corruption plot, of incalculable proportions,” within the municipal government.
Now, the Cartagena political machine is striking back, seeking to use a technicality (her husband had served as the regional ombudsman until shortly before last year’s vote) to nullify her election.
Senator McCain can take a strong stand against corruption in the Americas by expressing support for Mayor Pinedo.
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- Leaders of Cartagena’s large displaced population. Senator McCain will be visiting a city that has been a magnet for people fleeing the violence in nearby regions. The displaced occupy massive shantytowns on the city’s outskirts, the best known being the mostly afro-Colombian Barrio Nelson Mandela. Senator McCain could recognize the conflict’s victims’ struggle to return to their communities, to reclaim what was taken for them, and to learn the truth about what led to their displacement.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Wow! No love for McCain in this one…
You didn’t mention this:
http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/politica/2008-06-30/hrw-pide-a-mccain-que-vea-la-realidad-en-su-visita-a-colombia-y-no-la-version-oficial_4354238-1
I was certain you would.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/politica/2008-06-30/uribe-invita-a-presidente-de-nicaragua-daniel-ortega-a-cartagena-_4354231-1
On a seperate note…here’s Uribe reaching out to Ortega.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
According to “The cocaine cowboys” a documentary I learned existed because of Fabio, a contributor to this blog, Colombian mafia was running the business in Florida, well before Castro flushed the toilet of criminals from jail, helping Florida be the top most Latino stronghold in the United States.
What a nice electorate is Mr McCain trying to lure into voting for him.
June 30th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
How Jaime, because Colombians used to run a show in Florida, all Colombians in Florida who may vote for McCain must have run drugs. Your attention to detail leaves much to be desired.
Side note: Cocaine Cowboys is a great documentary.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:43 am
http://www.semana.com/wf_InfoArticulo.aspx?idArt=112495
This one is pretty revealing…I am just now reading this article. She’s no good…
July 1st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I live and will vote in Florida in the U.S. presidential elections. I wish I could vote for Obama and the promise of change from our politics as usual; but I can’t. The reason is Colombia and the clear abandonment of our Colombian allies should Obama win. A lot needs to be done in Colombia, but to deny how far they have come in the last eight years and how important it is to assist them in creating a safe environment in which THEY can transport their goods safely inside their own borders in order to grow their economy and be less dependent on the U.S. Government is just playing politics. There is only one way for Colombia to develop itself, and that is through the defeat of the drug-trafficking serial pedophiles of the farc.
July 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Sam, It is not clear at all that Obama’s policies in Colombia will depart substantially from what US policy towards Colombia has been since Plan Colombia, or even before. Though this may be of some comfort to you, unfortunately a substantial shift in US & Colombian policy is needed to get us to an accord.
July 1st, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Sam,
Both my parents live and vote in Florida and they will be voting for Obama, in part because they hope to see a change in the mindset that uncritically supports Uribe’s militarized campaign as well as the mindset underlying the Bush administration’s failed pre-emptive war strategy…with McCain we will see a general continuation of the Bush administration’s foreign policy which has been a general failure to say the least.
Sincerely,
Will
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
Well you’ll never catch me voting for Obama. The man with the campaign staff waving the Che-emblazoned Cuban flag bears all the earmarks of a Marxist.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:29 am
It does not seen like an electoral issue after all
McCain Heads Today for Colombia, Where Adviser Has Long Had Ties
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:43 am
Will:
I will not comment on President Bush’s pre-emptive war strategy but your putting it together with the situation in Colombia tells me you have not been there and talked to people affected by the farc. I have been to Colombia and talked to Colombian civilians, police and military personnel. They are very happy there is a semblance of order in most urban centers and that the national forces are moving into the thick jungle to protect smaller rural communities. To stand in the center of Bogota and think that only 7 years ago the farc controlled the mountains around it and the population could not drive freely to the outskirts of the city. To drive to the area in those mountains where those with kidnapped family members would take the ransom money to get their loved ones back (and by the way, the farc murdered over 50 kidnapping victims last year when the families could not pay). To read the books and accounts of those kidnapped by the farc and the news reports about information obtained from girls that escape from the farc so they could have their babies and not be forced to abort and give them way (the farc practices forced abortions and disobeying such order could lead to a firing squad), and many, many more things that our nation is not aware is going on that makes this not a political issue about Bush, but a humanitarian support issue to a country that has made incredible progress in getting rid of a terrible evil. If you ever talk to Colombian military and national police members you will hear a very deep appreciation and admiration of our Nation and people. Colombia is our ally; we must not abandon them.
Cordially,
Sam
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 am
Sam, you’re spreading bs.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Sam,
Obama’s opposition to a free trade agreement with Colombia is not abandoning Colombia nor is it expressing support for alleged “pedophiles” (i.e. the FARC), nor is it criticizing the security gains made by the government. It seems as if opposition to the free trade agreement means all these things to you and I don’t see how it could. I don’t know what other position that Obama holds which would lead you to this conclusion.
However, if you feel that the role of the U.S. government is to present unconditional/unquestioning support for the Colombian government, despite evidence of its links, relations, prior and present support for those “autodefensas” and despite the ongoing murder of trade unionists/human rights activists than please vote for McCain.
If one looks at the history of human rights activities/actions/developments within the Colombian government, and especially within its armed forces, I am convinced that whatever human rights progress that has been made (in terms of human rights training, the creation of human rights offices within the defense ministry and the reduction, though recently increasing, number of extrajudicial executions by the military) that the few U.S. conditions/vetting that have been applied to U.S. aid have contributed to this. External human rights pressures/conditions matter to the Colombian elite and to the Colombian armed forces and raising such concerns before a free trade agreement is signed makes perfect sense to me.
BTW millions of Colombians are also in opposition to the free trade agreement so I am not sure how Obama’s opposition “abandons” these Colombians either.
Best,
Will
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Conditions, Conditions, Conditions….
Everyone wants to attach their conditions to everything. Human Rights, Environmentalists, Special Interests, NGOs, Multi-National Corporations, Politicians…
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:11 pm
CHRIS YOU FORGOT TO MENTION … WIVES
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Jaime,
WIVES?? What are you talking about?!
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Lol!!!
October 16th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Hey all. Im a colombian living in Bogota, and I’ll try to tell you our whole perspective on the issues. First, I read a comment saying all colombians in Florida must have run drugs. Everyone should ignore ignorant and stereotypical remarks such as that one.
This article is pretty accurate saying most colombians in florida are middle-upper class people that fled the country specially during the 90’s. an upper class or middle class colombian is not a drug traficker. (though a druck traficker might have more money). There are normal businesses and regular jobs here just like in any country, and people can prosper with them. Drugs here are run by the Farc, and now some paramilitary groups, but not ordinary people. The same ordinary people that massively oppose the FARC, and massively support president Uribe. Why does Uribe have the highest approval rate of both south and north america? He gave us our country back. We needed the military support because presidents before had tried all kinds of approaches with Farc, including all out peace, giving them part of the country as a condition for them to sit in the negotiation table and disarm. All they did was take advantage of their demilitarized zone and grow stronger. Farc have an evil way of being that just blows you away. Ever heard of the bomb-necklace? A necklace they built with a ticker and put on a woman, which theyd disactivate is she got them money. She was in the middle of a road. No atm’s near. They went away, she called the cops. She died along a brave policeman trying to disarm the bomb. Farc is inhumane, and weve had them for 50 years, its kinda obsolete to have a marxist guerrilla still out there, but with colombias impossible geography hiding for them is still easy.
why do i emphasize this and what does this have to do with this article? President Hugo Chavez, our next door neighbor sympathizes with them. funds them. supports them. A Farc leader and founder recently died of old age, never in his life he tried to make peace. Venezuela, in its capital Caracas, are now erecting a square “plaza” and bust in his memory. How insulting can this be? Venezuela is Cuba with money, with oil. Russia is now supporting them and were in the brink of another cold war. Colombia is alone in south america, its safe to say only peru supports our point of view and politics. Chile is indifferent, argentina has been funded by chavez, brazil also has too many businesses with chavez going on, ecuador and bolivia are now “chavetized”. Its seems as were the only “sane” country that realizes Chavez is crazy and a menace to our entire continent. We are the only ones that support the USA and the US lifestyle and view of the world. We trust in the american leadership while keeping our own identity and culture. If US cuts Colombia support or funding, we are left alone in this continent and what used to be the us backyard, south america, suddenly will be the closest enemy.
On obama and mccain, as we see it, mc cain will keep that support on colombia. Regardless of what obama might say on colombias situation, apart from dissaproving the free trade agreement, we see obama as very indifferent towards our region. The free trade agreement its true like some people say above, millions here are against it, millions are in favor of it. We just see that a candidate thats interested in approving free trade with colombia is interested in colombias well being. a candidate against it who claims high labor union murders (which is true) is seen here as a politic that still has a stereotype on colombia as a murdering jungle with no civilization (i insist, regardless of what hes saying is true). It seems like mccain understands the colombian situation better.
But finally, I would vote for Obama. Why? I think whats better for the world will eventually be better for colombia. I think Obama is better for the world. The Us president is undoubtedly the most important leader in the world, one who was the power to change the worlds direction. Bush did so, but not in a positive way. The world saw a dumb leader, and in turn started seeing the US this way, as people who elected a dumb leader, they must be dumb. (and dont say hes not dumb, just look up “bushisms” on google, i mean, the guy is now a synonim of saying stupid things). Obama wants to talk with leaders, hes said the us have been giving “evil” countries the silent treatment and that hasnt worked. time to take another approach. a peaceful approach. americans are just too used to being at war all the time. give peace a chance. here in colombia weve been fighting for it for 50 years.
finally – Seriously, you know how you compare the president before his term and after, and you say wow, it must be a tough job, look how deteriorated he is! Mccain is 72 years old and I already see him deteriorated, two terms and hes 80 years old. Electing mccain might be indeed electing sarah palin as president, and well lets not go there. shes a good boost for the ratings, but in no way material to be president.