Colombia’s presidential election is still weeks away, but the man leading in the polls, Alvaro Uribe, is already hopscotching the globe like a statesman, asking for more aid to fight Colombia’s leftist rebels.
This week started with a meeting in Mexico with President Vicente Fox. Last week, Uribe met with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar about securing more aid from the European Union.
On Tuesday, he stopped in Costa Rica, and Uribe is expected soon to head to the United States, where he plans to meet with State Department officials and members of Congress. His goal is to encourage more funds while quelling concerns about stepped-up U.S. involvement in Colombia’s 38-year-old civil war.
If Uribe seems confident, it is because his presidential campaign has tapped into the frustration and anger of Colombians.
A former mayor, senator and governor, Uribe has promised he will relentlessly fight the rebels, whose recent deadly attacks have stiffened Colombians’ resolve.
“Colombia needs security in order to maintain its democracy,” Uribe said recently. “Colombia must protect all its citizens, and if we want to achieve that, it is necessary to control these violent groups.”
U.S. officials are concerned about the spillover of Colombia’s war into neighboring Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru, nations racked by their own economic and political turmoil.
White House wants to help
The Bush administration recently asked Congress to widen military aid to Colombia beyond the drug fight to include help for its war against rebel forces.
Since President Andres Pastrana broke off peace negotiations in February and decided to retake a 16,000-square-mile region ceded to the rebels three years ago, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have stepped up attacks on civilians.
On Tuesday, a parked car blew up south of Bogota, killing two police explosives experts. Two homemade mortars were later launched at the presidential palace in Bogota, but neither detonated.
Two small bombs also exploded in a downtown commercial district of the capital, injuring four people. Police spent much of the day rushing around the city, responding to reports of explosions and bombs.
On Sunday, two bomb blasts killed 12 people and injured 70 in a provincial capital of Villavicencio. No one has claimed responsibility for the violence, but police blamed the FARC.
In recent weeks, a Colombian senator was murdered, a presidential candidate kidnapped and a Roman Catholic archbishop slain. Around the country, rebels have been blamed for attacks on power plants, water reservoirs, bridges and other infrastructure.
“We need American help,” said Uribe’s vice presidential running mate, Francisco Santos.
“We don’t need troops. We need satellite technology. We need help with shooting down drug planes. We need to use all the machinery at our disposal to combat against cocaine and the guerrillas,” he said.
Candidate an ex-academic
A Harvard University graduate and former associate professor at Oxford University, Uribe has emphasized education, social programs, investment in small business and community-based policing programs during his political career.
He also has suffered personally in the civil war: FARC forces murdered his father, a wealthy landowner, in the 1980s.
Analysts say that Uribe is on the right track in lobbying for more aid to combat the rebels but that he needs to be tough on right-wing paramilitary groups.
Uribe has been dogged by accusations that he has had a cozy relationship with Colombia’s outlaw paramilitary forces and that some of his former political allies had ties with the narcotics trade.
Encouraged civilian policing
As governor of Antioquia, Uribe supported armed citizens groups organized to fight criminal behavior. Critics said the groups have been infiltrated by the paramilitaries.
Uribe’s closest rival in the presidential election, Horacio Serpa, made a formal complaint to federal prosecutors Monday, asking for an investigation into whether paramilitaries are using force and intimidation to get Uribe elected.
Uribe has strongly denied any relationship with paramilitary groups and during his trip to Mexico on Monday, he challenged the media to investigate him.
So far, Uribe’s competition is far behind but has shown some gains. The most recent poll gives Uribe 51 percent of the vote and Serpa 29 percent.
Uribe, meanwhile, is trying to keep one step ahead of his critics and also one step ahead of the rebels. Two attempts on his life have already been reported during the campaign.
Santos said FARC rebels have issued an order warning Colombians not to vote for Uribe.
