Uribe and Petro Spar over Paramilitaries in Northwestern Colombia

Leftist Gustavo Petro charges that former president Alvaro Uribe aided the growth of paramilitary groups in Antioquia and Cordoba.

By Felipe Fernández
Last Updated Sep 5, 2018



Recent attention in Colombia has focused on alleged longstanding relations between the government and paramilitary organizations. Thirteen directors of the multinational corporation Chiquita Brands have been charged with financing the illegal armed groups. The Attorney General’s Office has turned its focus towards the relationship between Convivir, a neighborhood watch association, and the governors of Colombia’s northwestern Antioquia state, between 1997 and 2004.

The debate has focused on the role played by the former president and today senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez when he served as governor of Antioquia between 1995 and 1997. During those years, he played important roles in developing community councils, expansion of the education system, providing public services, and building roads.

However, the ex-governor is haunted by a ghost called Convivir. In order to create a new instrument of community participation focused on the achievement of peace and security in the countryside, the Community Associations of Rural Vigilance (Convivir) were created, based on Article 42 of Law 356 of 1994. The government of former president Ernesto Samper spearheaded the creation of these organizations that were promoted by his predecessor, César Gaviria.

The accusation against Uribe basically lies in contention that he approved the “existence and expansion of paramilitary groups throughout the department of Antioquia.” Uribe, in his defense, has published a press release detailing the role that he played as governor.

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https://panampost.com/felipe-fernandez/2018/09/05/uribe-and-petro-spar-over-paramilitaries-in-northwestern-colombia/