PRESIDENT CHAVEZ AND THE
HUMANITARIAN MEDIATION IN
COLOMBIA
Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez explains his political vision as inspired by the 19th
Century independence leader, Simon Bolivar, who sought to unite the South
American continent as a single political unit. Chavez has always pushed for a
similar unity, but in a modern context that emphasizes the commonalities
between nations as much as the right to sovereignty of each one. Venezuela took this vision of international
cooperation to another level by offering support for a peace process in
neighboring Colombia, where an armed conflict has lasted for over four decades.
In September 2007, President Chavez was approached by Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe (pictured at left) to serve as the chief negotiator in a
hostage-for-prisoner swap between the government and rebels. A Colombian opposition Senator tapped to
facilitate the negotiations, Piedad Córdoba, had suggested that President
Chavez could play a role. The hostage talks began promisingly, with
communication between Chavez, Colombian state representatives, guerrilla
leaders, and heads of state in solidarity abroad. Chavez and Uribe met several times to discuss the talks, which
were aimed expressly at reaching an accord that would release 45 civilian
hostages – including 3 US military contractors – in exchange for perhaps
hundreds of guerrilla rebels who have been imprisoned over the years.
To
the great disappointment of all parties involved in the talks, President Uribe
called an abrupt and unexpected end to the process on November 21, 2007. He explained the decision to cancel the
talks as a response to a short though unauthorized conversation between
President Chavez and the head of the Colombian armed forces.
Nonetheless,
in early January of 2008, the FARC rebels announced their intention to release
two hostages to President Chavez. After
several delays, which the hostages later said were due to the fact that they
were under fire from Colombian armed forces, the release was achieved on January
10.[1]
The humanitarian mediation called for by President Chavez is an effort to
restore hope to a nation fraught with conflict and limit the spread of violence
and displacement beyond Colombia.
President
Chavez and many others remain committed to the cause of peace in Colombia and
to the belief that the conflict can reach a political negotiated solution, not
a military one. The future of the
humanitarian mediation remains uncertain.
In what follows, we will consider its course so far.
VENEZUELA AND COLOMBIA: A HISTORY OF COOPERATION
Venezuela
and Colombia have a long history of close relations, including strong cultural,
political, and economic ties. Although
Presidents Chavez and Uribe have often been described as ideological opposites,
they have a history of cooperation on issues such as trade, migration issues,
combating drug trafficking and terrorism, as well as security along the
1,400-mile long border shared by the two countries. Prior to the diplomatic discord caused by Uribe’s cancellation of
the humanitarian mediation, political analyst Michael Shifter of the
Inter-American Dialogue commented that the two leaders had a "surprisingly
cordial relationship, with a record of cooperation on energy and economic
issues."[2]
This
history of cooperation meant that President Chavez’s role as chief negotiator
in hostage talks in Colombia was a logical one. It also bodes well for the future of bilateral relations, which
analysts generally agree will not likely suffer any long-term negative effects
from the current clash.
PRESIDENT CHAVEZ AS PEACE NEGOTIATOR
Since
September 2007, the victims of Colombia's conflict placed their hopes in
President Chavez to negotiate a deal that would reinvigorate the peace
effort. As chief negotiator between the
FARC rebels and the Colombian State, Chavez bore the responsibility of striking
a deal between two parties that have been locked in a stalemate, unable to
trust one another for decades.
President
Chavez was chosen to negotiate the humanitarian deal precisely because he
counted on the confidence of both the government and the guerrillas in
Colombia. The three-times elected
leader of Venezuela came to office as an outsider candidate, and thus knows
what it is like to struggle in the margins of the political system, as the FARC
have done.
Moreover,
during his presidency, Chavez gained credibility among leaders worldwide by
overseeing a successful democratic project that has reduced poverty and
revolutionized the representative capacity of the government since 1999. The constitution enacted that year, the
first year Chavez was in office, was penned by a constituent assembly comprised
of diverse civil society groups and approved in a national assembly that saw
high voter turnout. Many experts
recognize Venezuela's 1999 Constitution as one of the most advanced in the
world on the issue of human rights, for it guarantees access to free healthcare
and education for all citizens.
The Venezuelan government has often pledged to help achieve peace in
Colombia. On August 24, 2007, the Washington Post reported: “Chavez, who
has had cordial relations with Uribe despite ideological differences, has
offered another, surprising proposal aimed at brokering a deal.”[3] President Chavez began the humanitarian
mediation in Colombia with characteristic enthusiasm, inviting the families of
Colombian hostages to Caracas to suggest ways to solve the crisis.
On
August 31, 2007, President Chavez met with President Uribe in Colombia to
discuss the possible hostage swap.
Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba (pictured at right with Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker of the US House of Representatives) was to be the only party present at
the talks besides Chavez and guerrilla leaders. Córdoba met FARC leader Raul Reyes in September and brought a recorded
message to Chavez agreeing to a preliminary meeting in October.[4] Córdoba also traveled to Washington, DC to
draw attention to their cause in the US Congress.
When
President Uribe refused to grant the guerrillas a demilitarized zone in which
to hold negotiations, Chavez proposed hosting them in Venezuela. Preliminary talks between Chavez and the
FARC were scheduled to take place in Caracas on October 8, but were again
delayed when President Uribe balked at the idea of allowing the FARC to leave
Colombia. Uribe only cautiously
expressed his faith in the process, saying, "I hope the rebels free the
hostages at President Chavez's request.
But we will express all of our gratitude to President Chavez … whether
or not the effort proves successful."[5]
This,
however, was no longer the case after November of 2007, when Uribe dictated an
abrupt end to Chavez's humanitarian mediation.
The switch led to harsh words between the two presidents, and at
present, Uribe still does not endorse the hostage releases being brokered by
President Chavez.
"THIS IS THE HIGHEST OUR HOPES HAVE EVER
BEEN"
Washington Post columnist on Latin American and Latino affairs
Marcela Sanchez has written that Chavez is perhaps the individual best suited
to negotiate the prisoner swap, for he has earned the respect of all parties
involved. Sanchez, who has frequently
been critical of the Venezuelan government, said, "Chavez's involvement is
the single most important element that makes this attempt the most promising in
recent memory."[6]
Accordingly,
support for the humanitarian mediation has come from international
organizations as well as many governments around the world. UN High Commander Antonio Guterres
congratulated the Chavez administration on its powerful bid for peace during the
58th session of the Executive Committee of the Office of the UN
High Commission for Refugees.[7] Brazilian President Lula da Silva offered to
help by lending the use of Brazilian territory to carry out negotiations. A government representative said, "Brazil
trusts President Chavez as a mediator of this conflict and has offered the
possibility, should it be necessary, of holding meetings on Brazilian
soil."[8]
French
President Nicholas Sarsozky has also been an enthusiastic supporter of Chavez's
role in the negotiations. French-born
former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt has been held captive
by the FARC since 2002, and is among the 45 hostages that Chavez worked to
liberate. Chavez met with a French
diplomat and traveled to Paris to discuss the negotiations.
On
October 6, 2007, the US National Latino Congreso passed a resolution to support
Venezuela's humanitarian mediation in Colombia. Some 2,000 participating organizations signed the agreement to
"recognize this humanitarian effort led by Venezuela as the most important
step in the peaceful resolution of so many decades of war and all its
destructive consequences in its sister nation, Colombia." Likewise, US Ambassador to Colombia William
Brownfield recognized the importance of the humanitarian mediation by
Chavez. Brownfield, also a former US
Ambassador to Venezuela, said "we welcome the efforts of anybody...
to facilitate the liberation of all the people kidnapped, including the US
citizens."[9]
In late September 2007, during a meeting in Caracas between Chavez and
the relatives of the US citizens who are among those being held hostage in
Colombia (pictured here), Chavez appealed to the US for assistance in the
negotiations by saying, "To President Bush: hopefully you can help us."[10] Some political analysts judged the
involvement of Chavez in the likely hostage swap as a threat to US dominance in
the region.[11] However, Venezuela sought to make the
hostage negotiation an act of international solidarity throughout the
hemisphere and the world, an effort around which a global consensus could
emerge.
Families
of the US hostages in Colombia were not disheartened by delays in the
talks. The relative of one of three US
citizens among those expected to be freed in the hostage-for-prisoner swap
said, "This is the highest our hopes have ever been…. The eyes of the
world are upon us."[12] Another affirmed that Chavez is providing
"a hope, a light that we haven't seen for a long time."[13]
REACTIONS TO URIBE'S UNTIMELY CANCELLATION OF TALKS
On November 30, 2007, new
video footage was released showing that hostages held in Colombia, including
former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three US citizens, are
indeed alive. The news came a little over a week after Colombian President
Alvaro Uribe abruptly canceled the negotiations by President Chavez and
Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba. Uribe
claimed that Chávez had disobeyed orders by speaking briefly to the head of the
armed forces.
French President Sarkozy responded to the unfortunate news by urging Uribe to
reconsider and saying, "We continue to think that President Chavez is the
best chance for freeing [French citizen] Ingrid Betancourt and all the other
hostages." Families of the hostages were less diplomatic, saying
"It is clear that the Colombian president does not want to hear about a
humanitarian accord."
According
to the BBC, Uribe's halt to the accord was met by marked disappointment in
Colombia, where half a century of conflict has created a nation desperate for
peace. The Washington Post reported
that the families of the US hostages also lamented Uribe's decision. A
Connecticut woman said, "Shame on him is all I can say. The eyes of the
world are on him."
THE HUMANITARIAN MEDIATION BEGINS TO BEAR FRUIT
As
2007 came to a close, and with talks seemingly tabled, President Chavez got
word from the FARC that the rebels indeed planned to release two captives into
his care. The first days of 2008
brought only more waiting. On January
10, the FARC finally appeared to hand over Consuelo Gonzalez and Clara Rojas,
and the women were flown to safety by the Red Cross. They later told the press that their earlier release was
prevented by attacks from the Colombian armed forces.[14]
On
January 31, the FARC announced their intention to release three more
hostages. This second release is
expected to grant freedom to Gloria Polanco, Luis Eladio Perez and Orlando
Beltran, all of whom were kidnapped in 2001.
In a statement, the FARC explained that "These releases are a
direct consequence of the realistic, transparent and integral efforts of
President Chavez.''[15]
President
Chavez said on February 9th that the first steps had been taken to
ensure that the hostages would be liberated.
He urged “calm and patience,” but remained optimistic, saying "We
are hoping that everything will turn out the best way possible."[16]
Despite
obstacles including opposition from the governments of Colombia and the US,
President Chavez and facilitator Piedad Cordoba have continued to work for a
negotiated end to the conflict.
Their
conviction that the conflict cannot be solved through military ends came under
criticism, particularly when Chavez argued for dropping the “terrorist” label
assigned the FARC by the US after 9/11 in favor of recognizing the combatants
as legitimate armies. This was likely
an effort to emphasize the particularity of the Colombian context and the role
of the FARC as historical actors with a political agenda. However, audiences critical of Chavez have
dismissed his insistence on a peaceful political solution as a show of sympathy
for the FARC.
Instead,
President Chavez contends that he is firmly “on the side of peace” in the
humanitarian mediation, as allegations questioning his motives continue to
surface. Meanwhile, as the violence
continues in Colombia and increasingly affects Venezuela and the rest of the
region, Chavez’s humanitarian mediation remains the best hope for the hostages
and the only current effort toward reaching true reconciliation. As expressed by the sister of Colombian
captive and former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, the Venezuelan
leader "knows how to advance things. For us today President Chavez is
indispensable."[17]