'I am victim of criminal vengeance': Uribe

[gbscar]

'I am victim of criminal vengeance': Uribe
Thursday, 18 August 2011 18:55
James Bargent

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In a marathon four-hour session Uribe told investigators of the House of Representatives' Accusations Commission that his government and his family are being persecuted by, "a plot between people I extradited, with their supposed victims, to abuse my family."

Although he was questioned on a wide range of issues, the primary aim of the commission was to investigate Uribe’s role in the “chuzadas” scandal, in which Supreme Court justices, left-wing politicians, and human rights workers were wiretapped by Colombia's intelligence agency, the DAS.

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He denied ordering the interception of the communications of journalist Daniel Coronell, who sued Uribe and his sons for slander after they called him a "mafioso," "murderer," "conman" and an "extortionist." Uribe said, “it never crossed my mind to give illegal instructions”.

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However, the ex-president admitted asking DAS to investigate Piedad Cordoba following the death of one of the ex-senator’s escorts, which she blamed on the government, and after she invited other countries to break off relations with Colombia in a conference in Mexico.

The commission questioned Uribe on Maria del Pilar Hurtado, the former DAS chief who fled to Panama, unlawful violation of communications, misuse of public office, breach of public duty and falsification of public documents. He maintained that Hurtado was a person of “great ethical and professional qualities”

In response to the claims of several ex-directors of the DAS who said Hurtado confessed that the president’s office requested wiretaps, Uribe asked the commission to take into account that the allegations were made by witnesses negotiating with the Prosecutor General’s office.

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According to the ex-president, all the allegations came after his decision to extradite the chiefs of demobilized paramilitary group the AUC to the United States “unleashed an incitement to vengeance.”

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/18432-i-am-vicitim-of-criminal-vengence-uribe.html

Comment:

For some reason, it seems appropriate to end the day on a tragic (or insulting, to be quite frank) yet strangely comical note such as this.

[rabs]

1. Pobrecito, este uribito

He is the "victim," but only in his fevered mind.

I read El Tiempo version earlier and noted that Piedad Cordoba is reported to have fled the country because of a serious death threat against her.

If true, wonder if she went to Caracas.

Btw, thanks for the timely posts on Colombia. Saves me time :-)

[gbscar]

2. I just read that about Piedad Córdoba too, and it certainly puts all of this in a darker light (nt)

[Peace Patriot]

3. Apparently five members of this committee have resigned, two admitting death threats were the reason

with death threats probable in the others. 15 member committee, so that leaves 10. What promises did those ten make to avoid death?

This is so absurd. Anybody left who even raises an eyebrow at Uribe, they know they are taking their life in their hands.

Could it be any clearer that Uribe is a Mob Boss?

Cocaine still flowing freely out of Colombia, after ten years of bloody warfare and at least $7 BILLION in U.S. military aid. In Uribe's hands, with Bush Junta support, this "war" was never meant to end the drug trade, but rather to establish it as the government. Five MILLION peasant farmers driven from their lands, displaced by the bigger, "tax"-paying drug lords. Vast illegal domestic spying, even on judges and prosecutors, to protect the consolidated industry and kill and terrorize the disobedient. The trillion+ dollar cocaine revenue stream has been secured as the liquid "gold" underpinning fascist rule (likely with 'protection' payments to U.S. banksters and others). And this criminal organization is now so embedded in local and national public offices and security forces, and in Colombia's rightwing political establishment, that Uribe--whom the U.S. (Obama) government has given considerable help to, in removing witnesses against him from Colombia, out of the reach of Colombian prosecutors, and in "laundering" his image--clearly expects to be re-installed as president.

This is what gives me the willies. The apparent Obama/Panetta policy of removing the Mob from direct control (ousting Uribe) can so easily be reversed, here, with the far rightwing in control of the voting machines* and the Miami mafia reps on Congress chafing at the bit for war in LatAm. If the far right takes over the White House and gets a few more senators, there will be no stopping them. And Uribe acts like he knows that this is going to happen. (I wonder if he found this out at that vacation meeting he had with Bush Sr and Bush Jr at some resort a while back. I recall seeing a photo of them.)

Another thing that worries me--besides the Obama administration aiding Uribe in sabotaging the Colombian justice system--is that the war assets that the Bush Junta put in place in LatAm and the massive funding of rightwing causes (probably including black ops), is all still in place, and, indeed, the war machine is growing (new U.S. military bases going into Honduras, for instance--the traditional U.S. stepping stool for aggression in Central America). The U.S. military bases in Colombia and other places, the USAF spying base on the Antilles right off Venezuela's oil coast, the U.S. 4th Fleet in the Caribbean--even with economic meltdown here, nothing has been pulled back. It reminds me of Bill Clinton's prep of Iraq for Bush Junta invasion--crippling sanctions, the "no-fly" zone, moving military assets into place, etc. The Obama government even issued "sanctions" against Venezuela, and has continued the Bushites' intense, lying propaganda campaign against Chavez. A lot of similarities.

And if you look at this as a global oil war, it gets even scarier, as to LatAm. All that oil--Venezuela with the biggest reserves on earth (twice Saudi Arabia's, according to the USGS)--right in "our own back yard." Iran is too well-defended (Iraq wasn't) and its nuke-possessing trade partners, China and Russia, too iffy for Rumsfeld's plan. (I think that's the main reason Rumsfeld was ousted--Rumsfeld/Cheney were going to go ahead with nuking Iran, and the military brass and the CIA disagreed. So did Bush Sr, who formed his Iraq Study Group (of which Panetta was a member) to head it off). But they may think that Venezuela is doable. (Venezuela supplies 10%-15% of U.S. oil. They want it all, plus all the profits--none 'wasted' on educating, feeding the poor, etc.)

Anyway, these are my darkest thoughts, reading about Uribe's Rumsfeldian remarks to this death-threatened committee. He has no worries. He expects to be in charge again. He not only has his criminal organization still in place in Colombia, he has Big Backers.

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*(80% of the voting machines in the U.S., all run on 'TRADE SECRET' code, are now controlled by one, far-rightwing connected corporation--ES&S, which bought out Diebold. ES&S was funded by far rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon foundation, which touts the death penalty for homosexuals, among other things. The far rightwing HAS the power to install Bush Junta II. It's quite easy--invisible, undetectable--to miscount the vote not just in a few precincts but over entire states, and the public has no recourse. Half the states in the U.S. do NO AUDIT AT ALL. They just "trust" what ES&S tells them are the results. The other half do only a miserably inadequate 1% audit. By comparison, Venezuela uses electronic voting, but with OPEN SOURCE code--anyone may review the code by which the votes are tabulated--and they do a whopping 55% audit (match of ballots to machine totals)--more than five times the percentage needed to detect fraud in electronic systems. The U.S.: 0% audit (!!!!!) in half the states; 1% in the other--with 'TRADE SECRET' code!)

[bemildred]

4. What goes around, comes around. nt

[joshcryer]

5. I have no doubt Santo's house cleaning had an effect.

Whether it makes Uribe a 'victim' is a joke, but when you dance with the devil...

[EFerrari]

6. Let me get out my violin for poor poor uribito.