The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change

Chapter 5: Human Rights and Free Trade in Colombia

The Andean region is going through a very difficult, challenging period. The legitimacy of the democratic system is in grave danger. Neopopulism has sprung up in different forms in every country in the region (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia). Diplomatic tensions have called into question the countries’ ability to coexist peacefully. Institutions of integration , particularly the Andean Community (Comunidad Andina de Naciones, CAN), are on the verge of collapse. Even in this troubled region, Colombia has achieved important gains in the past six years; much improved security and economic growth have bolstered democracy and the rule of law. There has been a dramatic decline in violence, and President Álvaro Uribe’s policy of “seguridad democrática” (democratic security)—a security strategy aimed at improving the armed forces’ efficiency in combating crime—has sharply reduced the political and military capabilities of criminal groups, especially those of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC). During the first half of 2008, FARC suffered the worst losses in its history: one of the seven members of its secretariat, the governing body, was killed in combat; another member was assassinated by his own men; and the top leader, Manuel Marulanda, died of natural causes.Various second- and thirdlevel “commanders” have been captured, killed in combat, or turned them83 five Human Rights and Free Trade in Colombia Rodrigo Pardo selves in. In addition, acreage under coca leaf cultivation has shrunk, while the numbers of drug confiscations, extradition of criminals to the United States on drug-trafficking charges, and capture of leaders of minicartels (which have replaced the large cartels of the nineties) have gone up. But a modern and functioning democracy has not yet been created in Colombia. Internal conflict, authoritarian strains, tensions between modernity and underdevelopment, and the corrupting effect of drug trafficking all remain as troubling domestic issues, and regional disputes and tensions are creating further difficulties for Colombia. Tensions within Colombia There are two common images of Colombia. The first is that of a country with the strongest civil and government institutions in the region, a democratic system, and a long electoral tradition. In this image Colombia is a modern country characterized by pluralist debate, separation of powers, and a respectable record of defending the rule of law from the powerful domestic threats of drug trafficking, guerrilla warfare, and paramilitarism. The first image of Colombia has become more common since the election, in 2002, of President Álvaro Uribe. The country’s record of violence and drug trafficking has improved, and guerrilla groups have been weakened. The process of demobilizing the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or AUC) has been highly successful ; security forces extradited fourteen top paramilitary leaders to the United States in 2008, destabilizing these powerful groups of assassins. Through interrogation conducted under the framework of the Justice and Peace Law first passed in July 2005, which is designed to deal with paramilitaries who are not extradited to the United States, Colombia has expanded its knowledge of the groups’ structure and nature—an important tool for their ultimate eradication. Yet there is a second common image of Colombia, which paints a different picture. This is of a country that has failed in its long history to overcome recurrent violence and consequently has been able to construct only a limited model of democracy. What democracy does exist is largely formal and elitist, and high percentages of the population remain marginalized. Those who challenge and question the established order—opposition groups, unions, independent journalists, and human rights advocates—are muzzled. This is a nation plagued by internal conflicts fueled by the corrupting influences of a huge illicit drug trade. 84 Rodrigo Pardo From this perspective one must assess Uribe’s six years in power more cautiously . Ties that were revealed between the political class and paramilitary groups illustrate a high level of illegitimacy in state institutions, particularly in Congress. The slow progression of the Justice and Peace Law and the short five- to eight-year sentences it has established for ex-paramilitaries who have committed crimes—in exchange for the demobilization of their bands—are evidence of the judicial system’s weakness. Indications that new paramilitary groups associated with drug trafficking are springing up in some of the regions where the demobilized groups operated previously show that demobilization efforts have been...