Uribe sent $500K to FARC mediator to appease rebels: Report
Uribe sent $500K to FARC mediator to appease rebels: Report
Oct 13, 2014 posted by Adriaan Alsema
The administration of former Colombia President Alvaro Uribe tried to convince guerrilla group FARC to agree to peace talks in 2006 by sending $500 thousand to “social projects” in rebel-controlled territory, reported weekly Semana on Sunday. According to Daniel Coronell, a columnist at Semana and executive at US television network Univision, Uribe’s own office signed off on at least ten development projects in rebel-controlled areas in 2006.
Sending the money to the FARC
The funds were sent to entities created by economist Henry Acosta, who the government at that moment was trying to convince to mediate with regional FARC commander “Pablo Catatumbo.”
Then-Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo was recorded on tape while promising to send the funds to the mediator in order to appease the guerrillas. Additionally, the top government official referred to more funds coming from The Netherlands. Restrepo ended up on tape because investigators were wiretapping the phone of Acosta, reportedly to investigate the FARC’s civilian support network in the Valle del Cauca state.
The Dutch embassy was not available for comment on Monday, a bank holiday in Colombia commemorating the arrival of Cristopher Columbus to the Americas. The purpose of the money transfer was to demonstrate to the FARC that the government was serious in attempts to establish direct contact and facilitate the beginning of secret preliminary talks that would lead to a peace process like currently underway in Cuba.
The leaking of Uribe’s attempts to make peace with the FARC come at a time the former president and now senator has assumed the role of Colombia’s primary critic of the ongoing talks initiated by his successor, President Juan Manuel Santos.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/uribe-sent-500k-farc-mediator-appease-rebels-report/