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DE RUEHBO #2089/01 1621710
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O 101710Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3108
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0517
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUN LIMA 6251
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 1829
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 6923
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4458
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002089 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/AND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER CO
SUBJECT: SENATOR PIEDAD CORDOBA'S COMMENTS INCREASINGLY 
STRIDENT 
 
REF: BOGOTA 1954 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  Liberal Party Senator Piedad Cordoba publicly praised the 
efforts of deceased FARC founder Pedro Marin in a June 3 
public address and again in an exclusive interview published 
on June 8.  Cordoba called the Uribe administration a "puppet 
government" and called the Ambassador a "reptile."  She 
claimed the CIA is bribing former FARC members to give false 
testimony that will implicate her as a FARC supporter. 
Liberal Party leader and former President Cesar Gaviria 
reprimanded Cordoba for her comments.  The Liberal Party 
announced June 8 it would call her before a party committee. 
End Summary. 
 
PIEDAD PRAISES THE FARC... 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2.  In a June 3 address to a student group in Medellin, 
Senator Piedad Cordoba eulogized the recently deceased FARC 
founder Pedro Marin (Manuel Marulanda) and likened him to 
other historic Colombian figures.  She called for more active 
revolutionaries in Colombia.  In an exclusive interview with 
Semana magazine published on June 8, Cordoba underscored she 
did not regret her June 3 remarks.  She insisted she does not 
support armed conflict, but applauded Marulanda for spending 
his life confronting "the establishment," justifying the 
FARC's existence due to social injustice. 
 
¶3.  The press reported that the 900 emails discovered on 
former FARC Secretariart member Raul Reyes' computers, 
reportedly sent by, to, or about Cordoba, calls into doubt 
her role as an impartial intermediary for a humanitarian 
exchange or broader peace process.  Emails from Cordoba to 
members of the FARC show her strong affinity for the FARC's 
cause and also reveal her providing the group strategic 
advice.  In a December 11, 2007 email, FARC member "Cesar" 
provides what he calls an "almost verbatim" account of his 
meeting with Cordoba earlier that day.  According to the 
email, Cordoba advised the FARC against liberating 
high-profile hostage Ingrid Betancourt.  At the time the 
meeting allegedly took place, Cordoba no longer had GOC 
authorization to negotiate with the FARC. 
 
...AND BLAMES THE GOC AND USG 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Also in her June 3 speech, Cordoba claimed the country is 
tired of the "puppet government" controlled by the United 
States. She called President Uribe the "leader of 
paramilitarism."  In the subsequent Semana interview, she 
also criticized Uribe as Colombia's "murder champion." 
Cordoba claimed the contents of the Reyes computers are 
fabrications set up by Minister of Defense Juan Manual 
Santos.  She also described the Ambassador as a "perfect 
reptile" who goes out on Sundays on his bicycle seeking 
acclaim as if he were in the Roman Empire.  In her Semana 
interview, Cordoba charged that the CIA is trying to 
implicate her as a FARC supporter, offering USD 300,000 and 
work visas to former FARC members to testify against her. 
 
REACTIONS 
--------- 
 
¶5.  Liberal party leader and former President Cesar Gaviria 
publicly reprimanded Cordoba, saying that her comments damage 
Colombia's democracy and the Liberal party.  He announced 
that party members should make clear that the FARC is not a 
legitimate organization.  In a June 9 announcement, Liberal 
Party spokesman and Senator Hector Heli Rojas said Cordoba 
would be called before a party committee.  He noted that 
while the party welcomes a diversity of views, the Liberal 
Party is not a friend of the FARC or kidnapping.  An 
unrepentant Cordoba replied that she is the legitimate 
"intellectual heir" of murdered Liberal leader Jorge Gaitan. 
 
¶6.   Based on its preliminary review of Reyes' computer 
files, the Prosecutor General (Fiscal General) referred 
Cordoba's case, as well those of two other legislators, to 
 
the Supreme Court for further investigation into possible 
sedition or other charges.  To date, the Court has not yet 
called her to testify. 
BROWNFIELD