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Colombia’s Paramilitary Transforms into Guerrilla Force
2320 GMT, 000622
Chances for peace in Colombia took
another blow June 20.
Colombia’s infamous far-right
paramilitary group intensified its
opposition to the peace process by
kidnapping the brother of a top
governmental peace negotiator. The
kidnapping is purportedly
designed to pressure the government
into giving the United Self
Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) a
seat at the ongoing peace
negotiations. In reality, the AUC is
attempting to gain admittance
to the talks in order to sabotage
them.
So far, President Andres Pastrana has resisted the
AUC’s demands. Now, with the
safety of governmental officials threatened,
Pastrana will be forced to combat the
escalation of the paramilitary’s activities instead
of ignoring it.
The AUC is switching strategies in hopes of forcing
the government’s hand. This is the
first time the AUC has blatantly challenged the
government by kidnapping the brother
of a peace negotiator. Until now, the rightist
group, led by the outlaw Carlos Castaño,
only attacked rural villages and local politicians
purportedly connected to Colombian
rebels. The new tactic won’t likely work, however,
because inviting the AUC to
participate in the peace negotiations would
effectively end the talks.
The AUC intends to undermine the peace talks by
threatening the government,
specifically officials involved in the
negotiations. In April, the government accused the
paramilitaries of plotting to kill the High
Commissioner for Peace Victor G. Ricardo.
Although Castaño denied the allegations, Ricardo
later resigned.
Then, on June 21, Castaño admitted kidnapping
regional lawmaker Guillermo
Valencia, brother of Fabio Valencia, a top official
involved in peace negotiations with
the largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). A
week before, the AUC roundly criticized Valencia
for being “too generous” in the
negotiations, reported Agence France Presse on June
20. A day after the kidnapping,
Interior Minister Humberto de la Calle Lombana said
the kidnapping posed a serious
threat to the peace process, reported BBC.
The AUC and its supporters adamantly oppose the
peace process. According to the
U.S. State Department, hawkish members within the
government and the military
support the paramilitaries. They have long fought
the rebels and see the talks as
surrender. Already the AUC has decried the
concession of a southeastern
Switzerland-sized swath of territory to the FARC.
The paramilitaries also contest the
government’s plan to create another demilitarized
zone in the north for the ELN.
Indeed, Pastrana’s administration persists in the
negotiations, despite the glacial
pace of the talks. Leaders from both the government
and the FARC met earlier this
week in Caracas with Venezuelan Foreign Minister
Jose Vincente Rangel. The
officials met to prepare for a fundraising mission
aimed at garnering international
support for the peace talks, reported Venezuela
Online News June 19.
In addition, the proposed $1.3 billion U.S. aid
package to Colombia that had been
stalled in the Senate finally received tentative
endorsement on June 22. Despite the
endorsement, the measure must still receive final
approval and be reconciled with a
conflicting plan approved by the U.S. House of
Representatives. In the meantime, the
AUC hopes to prevent further movement in the peace
process.
The AUC and its backers are now gearing up to
challenge Pastrana’s administration
on every inch of progress made in the negotiations.
The kidnapping of the
governmental official is just the first step.
Continued momentum will also bring
increased violence. The once United Self-Defense
Force has now become just another
guerrilla group. The difference lies in its base of
support. As long as elements of the
government continue to undermine each other, the
negotiations will continue to
flounder. The AUC is simply the hawks’ most violent
weapon.
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