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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #2593/01 1092012
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 192012Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4168
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7492
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 8901
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR LIMA 4963
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 0199
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 5593
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 3929
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
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UNCLAS BOGOTA 002593 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: URIBE CALLS PETRO'S PARA-POLITICS DEBATE ON 
ANTIOQUIA A SLANDER 
 
REF: BOGOTA 2529 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) President Uribe called leading opposition Polo 
Democratico Senator Gustavo Petro's accusations during the 
para-politics debate in congress on Antioquia department a 
personal slander.  The nine-hour debate on April 17--in which 
Petro spoke for over two-hours--focused primarily on 
allegations against Uribe, his family, and his allies. 
Several pro-Uribe congresspersons and two Ministers countered 
Petro's claims during the debate.  Most of Petro's 
allegations have been aired previously, and he did not 
present any hard evidence tying Uribe to paramilitary crimes. 
 End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Uribe Fights Back Petro's Allegations 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) President Uribe defended himself against leading 
opposition Polo Democratico Senator Gustavo Petro's 
allegations that he aided the rise of far-right death squads 
when he was governor of Antioquia from 1995-97, calling the 
accusations a "slander."  In a speech in Cartagena, Uribe 
said, "To be a mediocre guerrilla and such a lucid slanderer 
speaks very poorly of the character of the guerrilla," 
referring to Petro's time in the former leftist rebel group 
M-19.  Uribe has repeatedly denied any connection between his 
family and the paramilitaries, insisting that he has spent 
his life fighting all illegal armed groups. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Petro Shifts the Para-Politics Focus on Antioquia 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Petro turned the much-awaited congressional debate 
on para-politics in Antioquia into an attack on President 
Uribe and his family.  Speaking for over two-hours, he 
focused his speech on allegations linking Uribe and his 
family to paramilitary activities in Antioquia.  These 
included claims that farms owned by Uribe's family were used 
by paramilitaries for meetings and, at least in one case, for 
executions, and that Uribe had authorized the creation of two 
Public Self-Defense Groups (Convivirs) by two individuals, 
Rodrigo Perez Alzate (AKA "Julian Bolivar") and Jose Maria 
"Chepe" Barrrera, who later became paramilitary leaders (ref. 
A) (Note: The GOC's Private Security and Vigilance 
Superintendence issued a statement on April 18 denying Uribe 
authorized Julian Bolivar to head one of the Convivirs--they 
made no mention of Chepe Barrera.)  Petro repeated his 
previous claim that the President's brother, Santiago, was 
linked to a death squad known as the "Twelve Apostles," and 
revealed a beeper message received by a paramilitary member 
days before the El Aro massacre from an unidentified person 
purportedly acting on behalf of then Governor Uribe. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Petro also attacked three of Uribe's close 
political allies in the department.  Petro accused 
presidential adviser Fabio Valencia Cossio of having 
solicited the political support of ex-para leader Ramon Isaza 
at a Conservative Party Convention in 1995. (Note: 
Ironically, Valencia, who was a political opponent at the 
time, led a debate in the Antioquia legislature in 1997 
criticizing Governor Uribe's support for the Convivir.)  He 
claimed Bogota Metropolitan Police General Daniel Ernesto 
Castiblanco met with Pablo Escobar, Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, 
Victor Carranza, Ramon Isaza, and AKA "Ariel Otero, and also 
accused General (ret.) Rito Alejo del Rio, ex-commander of 
the Seventeenth Brigade in Uraba, of having ties to former 
paramilitary leader Carlos Castano. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) At the end of the session, Petro suggested a 
National Peace and Reconciliation Accord.  This would include 
 
the creation of regional constituent assemblies to dismantle 
the clientalist political structure, land reform, and general 
juridical benefits to be extended to illegal armed group 
members in exchange for complete confessions.  The following 
day the ex-para leaders incarcerated in Itagui issued a 
statement indicating they would be willing to take part in a 
National Peace Accord.  Several Liberal Party congressmen 
also expressed support for such an accord. 
 
--------------------- 
GOC Officials Respond 
--------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In addition to several congresspersons from Uribe's 
coalition parties, Minister of Interior and Justice Carlos 
Holguin and Transportation Minister Andres Uriel countered 
Petro's allegations during the debate.  Holguin described 
Petro's intervention as "an epic tale" based on a fictional 
story.  Holguin accused Petro of using fragmented bits and 
pieces of judicial proceedings to serve his own purpose. He 
also asked why Petro was not so aggressive about unearthing 
links between politicians and leftist guerrillas.  Uriel, who 
is from Antioquia, defended Uribe as an honest person with 
nothing to hide. 
 
---------------------- 
Presidential Politics? 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) The leading Medellin daily El Colombiano said on 
April 19 that Petro's presentation marked both a "finish 
line" and a "starting point."  It was the culmination of the 
senator's efforts to deligitimize President Uribe, his 
family, his government, his collaborators, and Antioquia.  At 
the same time, the proposal of a National Peace Accord was 
the kick-off of his presidential aspirations as a candidate 
for the Polo Democratico Party. 
Drucker