This week, the former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been charged with fraud and witness tampering by Colombian prosecutors. According to a report by The Guardian, Uribe is facing allegations that he used right-wing paramilitary groups to target leftist rebels. Uribe is praised by many on the Colombian right wing for eradicating the threat of The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). According to a report in The Washington Post, Uribe retains a large amount of political capital in that he has helped elect two successors into the office of president. Uribe has faced legal issues for the last decade so that I wouldn’t expect a swift conclusion to this trial.
Tag: Colombia
Ecuador Anti-Corruption Presidential Candidate Assassinated.
Last week Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated while leaving a campaign event in Quito. According to a report by Reuters, Villavicencio was formerly an investigative journalist who focused on exposing corruption and stated that he was not afraid of being targeted by criminal gangs. Violence against politicians in Ecuador is not new. According to a report by the AP from July 23rd, the mayor of Manta, Ecuador’s third largest city, Agustin Intriago, was assassinated by what authorities believe to be organized crime elements.
According to an article by El Pais, both Mexican and Colombian drug cartels have made inroads into Ecuadorian society and have been trafficking drugs, as well as conducting other criminal enterprises. The killing of Villavicencio is concerning for two reasons. First, it hindered ongoing anti-corruption efforts, scaring people into silence and emboldening transnational criminal organizations. Secondly, it adds to the overall feeling of political and social instability in Ecuador.
Crispin Corruption Report 