What happened in Cauca?

Colombian friends took to Facebook this week following a stand-off between soldiers and people from the indigenous Nasa community in the Department of Cauca with an unusual intensity for a country often numbed to so much violence.

Why such a reaction? I can't begin to explain. The more I learn about Colombia the more clouded and undefinable the layers of conflict in this beautiful country seem to me. Here are some resources that hopefully provide context to the ongoing battle between the military and the FARC, and the immense toll such violence takes on the innocent people caught in the middle.

Latin American Working Group's Colombian Campaign. Noticias 24's coverage with video of President Santos' statement. A write-up from Foreign Policy. Images from the BBC. The fairly in-depth AP story with a focus on political fallout.

Narco-corridos in Colombia

The outlaw Mexican genre has been popular but shunned by most mainstream outlets in Colombia for 30 years.

El fin de Uribismo o solo de Uribe?

The Constitutional Court of Colombia has ruled that Alvaro Uribe cannot vie for a third presidential term. Let's back up for a moment. In 2005, Uribe pushed through changes to the constitution in order to run for a second term. Although this second term was marked by wiretapping, bribery, and paramilitary scandals, violence decreased and his popularity remained high.

Now Uribe, one of the strongest US allies in the hemisphere, has said he will accept the decision of the court and start grooming a successor for the May 30 vote (and a June run-off). He favors Juan Manuel Santos, the ultimate insider, who stepped down as defense minister last May. His family looms large in Colombian politics and he helped found Uribe's political party which has held a working coalition together throughout his two terms.

This is a positive development for Colombian democracy, whoever the next president is. For better or worse, Colombia need to extend security to its entire population through stronger institutions not the will and political might of one man.

La Impunidad

Within the past several days, two disturbing incidents occurred across Latin America which underscore the profound challenges for the rule of law and the struggle against impunity. Following the military operation in Mexico that resulted in the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva, one of the country's three most powerful narcos, questions were raised about photographs that showed the body in a disrespectful manner echoing the calling cards of murders committed by the narcos themselves.

One member of the Mexican Navy was killed in that operation and on Tuesday morning Beltran Leyva's cartel sought revenge. Hours after the family of that fallen soldier buried their son at a funeral attended by President Calderon they were killed by hitmen aligned with Los Zetas. Four people have now been arrested and it appears that members of the Tabasco state police force, where the family lived, were also involved.

Javier Ibarrola had this to say in an L.A. Times article, "We are not facing a criminal group but a corps of combatants who are going to exact revenge and take territory from the government. The government is not prepared for this. Presidential speeches do not scare them."

The second incident occurred in Colombia. There, the governor of the state of Caqueta was abducted and found dead less than a day later. Luis Francisco Cuellar had been kidnapped on four previous occasions. He appeared with President Uribe as recently as this past Saturday. Ten assailants, presumably FARC members, killed one guard, injured others, and used grenades to gain entry into Cuellar's residence.

Both of these attacks, on two targets with distinctly different public profiles, demonstrate that Mexico and Colombia's success in rolling back these destabilizing elements has not had a significant impact on their ability to wage high-profile operations. The narcos, and to a lesser extent, FARC, have used fear in unprecedented ways to preserve their power. Gruesome murders and indiscriminate violence against journalists and other members of society not involved in government or security have abetted their sense of impunity.

These groups have also benefited from the deep levels of mistrust that many Colombians and Mexicans have in their governments. Whether it is the complicity of politicians or members of the security apparatus (from the highest levels down to rank and file police officers) in Mexico's drug trade or Colombian officials implicated in violence committed by paramilitary groups, entrenched corruption in these countries has stifled the popular support for not just the objectives of these campaigns against criminal activity, but for the methods and individuals waging them. The impunity afforded to narcos and rebel groups across Latin America will be protected as long as this critical support is lacking.

Confirming the Obvious: Venezuela Aids Colombia's FARC

Simon Romero of the NYT has had a look at recently uncovered communications between FARC commanders in Colombia and top government officials in Venezuela that detail a high volume of communications between the two. From the article:

Mr. Chávez has disputed claims of his government’s collaboration with the rebels since Colombian forces raided a FARC encampment in Ecuador last year. During the raid, Colombian commandos obtained the computers of a FARC commander with encrypted e-mail messages that described a history of close ties between Mr. Chávez’s government and the rebel group, which has long crossed over into Venezuelan territory for refuge.

The newest communications, circulated among the seven members of the FARC’s secretariat, suggest that little has changed with Venezuela’s assistance since the raid. The New York Times obtained a copy of the computer material from an intelligence agency that is analyzing it.

One message from Iván Márquez, a rebel commander thought to operate largely from Venezuelan territory, describes the FARC’s plan to buy surface-to-air missiles, sniper rifles and radios in Venezuela last year.

This comes on the heels of the discovery of Venezuelan bought Swedish rocket launchers in the hands of the FARC. My hunch is that the "World's Most Interesting Man" is involved in some fashion.

What seems to be par for the course is Chavez' desire to further dig his country in by upsetting a major trading partner. From the WSJ (disclaimer: not its editorial page):

Venezuela depends on Colombia for basic goods such as dairy, meat, clothing and, more strategically, imports 300 million cubic feet of natural gas a day, twice as much as originally agreed upon.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state-owned oil firm, needs natural gas for its oil reservoirs to increase pressure and boost production, and as raw material for its petrochemical industry.

The trade deficit between these countries is obscenely unbalanced, Colombia exports about $500 million worth of desperately needed goods a month while Venezuela sends only a fraction of that to its neighbor.