Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva warned that next year’s presidential elections could become an “objective” for foreign militaries, in an interview published on Sunday.
“I’m worried the electoral process and democracy will become an internal and external military objective,” Silva told El Tiempo.
“We cannot allow terrorism or its allies to interfere in the sovereign expression of popular will,” said Silva, who was appointed defense minister last month.
Elections have been scheduled for next Mayin Colombia, which has had increasingly tense relations with neighbors Ecuador and Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez froze relations with Colombia last month and recalled his ambassador to the country. Colombia has accused both Chavez and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa of aiding the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group.
Venezuela has also been angered by Colombia’s decision to allow the US to use its military bases to conduct anti-drug operations. Chavez last week alleged “a Yankee military force” was planning to invade his country from Colombia.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who has led a popular crackdown on drug groups and armed insurgents, has not ruled out seeking a third term in office, which would require a constitutional amendment.
Former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos, an ally of Uribe, is also considered a front-runner, and is popular for his hardline stance against militants.
Chavez has dubbed Santos a “threat to continental peace” because the Colombian has expressed support for military operations against rebels based in neighboring countries, if the countries are offering the militants safe haven.
Correa has accused Colombia’s intelligence service of trying to undermine his government by linking it to the FARC.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
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