In abuse of his immunity as a member of the Senate, Gustavo Petro, the official slanderer for El Polo Democratico, unleashed a pack of lies attacking everybody and his brother, but particularly President Uribe and his family. The first lie to be refuted overwhelmingly was the one against Bogotá Police Chief, General Daniel Ernesto Castiblanco, who he accused of having met with Pablo Escobar at Hacienda Nápoles, the drug lord’s farm. However, the General reminded Petro that, at the time, Escobar was incarcerated at “The Cathedral”. As to an alleged meeting with drug baron Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, General Castiblanco noted that Gacha was killed long before the date on which the meeting supposedly was held. Petro accused President Uribe of having authorized several Convivir groups (legal citizens watch organizations) in Antioquia during his time as governor that included well-known paramilitary figures. In truth, those specific groups were established in Sucre or Córdoba, not in Antioquia. Petro offered no evidence whatsoever to back his allegations that any homicide had ever occurred at Guacharacas, a ranch managed by the President’s brother, other than the killing of President Uribe’s father and a farm hand. Both men were murdered by the FARC.And so it was; one lie after another exposed. Who won the debate? Obviously, it did not end in Congress, since the accused were not there to defend themselves. It is still being waged, and every day brings new evidence that Senator Petro lied. However, because of his parliamentary immunity, he cannot be sued for slander.

This is simply another episode of a long soap opera in which Petro has a leading role, but is not the only one on stage. On Wednesday, April 25, El Tiempo announced there is a witness, Guillermo Sánchez Quintero, a former mayor, who told a committee of prosecutors that Petro paid the “multi-purpose” slanderer Rafael García Torres 100 million pesos to testify against Jorge Noguera, the former head of DAS, the intelligence and protection service that reports directly to the President.Petro says this “obviously is not true”, because he does not have that kind of money. However, we all know he has friends with plenty of “petrodollars”. We would not attempt to pass judgment on the witness’s testimony, without having a chance to examine the file in detail, but his story coincides with the plot that has been laid.With his slander, Petro, a close friend of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan dictator, clearly has inflicted damage, but he also has shattered his own aspirations for the future. His chronicle of vicious lies is on record and will not be forgotten. Who else is lurking behind the scenes, quietly benefiting from Petro’s “show”? Is it Carlos Gaviria, senator Robledo or someone else in the far-left Polo Democrático Alternativo? No one knows, and probably never will. What deal has been made to reward Petro for his self immolation?

The damage to the country will not be done in Colombia; people here recognize Petro’s “revelations” as slander. The damage will be done abroad, particularly in the United States, where the entire “show” is being served on a platter to the Left as another excuse not to sign the FTA and not to help Colombia in its fight against narco-terrorists. Let us not forget that all of this comes after the avalanche of slander produced during visits to the United States by CUT -the largest federation of labor unions- , and leftist senators Robledo and Petro, which was reported by the press without question. This raises another curious point. The United Status, which has denied visas to members of the Colombian military who were victims of unfounded accusations, has no problem granting a visa to a well-known terrorist. Although Petro received amnesty, he was a member of a criminal organization with close ties to the drug traffic.But, who understands the Gringos when it comes to visas?Thumbs down for their friends; visas for their sworn enemies!

The entire show was orchestrated with the support of certain journalists in the America press, including several Colombians, who credited the accusations as being true. The columns published by Gonzalo Guillén in The Miami Herald, Juan Forero in The Washington Post, both Colombian, and by another jurnalist, appropriately named Marx (Gary), in The Chicago Tribune are a case in point. The people and sources these journalists quote are always the same: Jim McGovern, Adam Isacson, WOLA, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and, of course, Petro himself. They latch on to accusations about the killing of union leaders and connections between the military and self-defense forces, portraying Petro as a hero who has discovered ties between local politicians and paramilitaries, which is another lie in itself. The ties between several congressmen accused of collusion with the Illegal Self Defense Forces were uncovered by state security agencies, not by Mr. Petro.

After the debate in the Senate, came a raid by prosecutors on Petro’s offices.One suspects he may have organized it himself, considering it also was for public consumption in the United States.The US Attorney General reports to the President, and it is easy to make the American public believe that Petro is being persecuted by Uribe. In Colombia, however, the Prosecutor General’s Office is an independent agency. And, as if that were not enough, Petro also announced what he claims is a plot against his life.

The accusations prompted former US Vice President Al Gore to cold-shoulder President Uribe and Colombia by canceling his appearance at an environmental meeting held in Miami, with President Alvaro Uribe in attendance.As to the reason for Gore’s rude gesture, one suspects he is trying to “refurbish” his image for another presidential run, and might be courting support from the AFL-CIO. In an effort to protect workers in inefficient segments of US industry, the AFL-CIO opposes free trade agreements and fears the United States will lose jobs to Colombia.El Polo (the extreme left coalition), therefore, is aiding unemployment in Colombia. So much for being an ally of the people! Gore’s presidential ambitions are unlikely to succeed. Political parties in the United States tend to discard losers, and the votes are at the center, not on the outer edges.

In a bid for the nomination - unannounced as yet - Gore would face Hillary Clinton, whose husband is a good friend of Colombia. Gore’s attitude also has a personal price.The Wall Street Journal, with nearly twice the circulation of The New York Times and, obviously, far more than The Washington Post, published an editorial that was extremely critical of the former Vice President. Later, in an extensive and even harsher column, it questioned Gore’s motives and those of the Colombian Left, detailing the fact that a campaign of slander and defamation has been mounted against Uribe. If Gore, the politician, wanted to ingrate himself with the labor unions, while going unnoticed by the rest of the electorate, he failed.

True, Senator Delahunt, an “old leftist foggy” from Massachusetts and a friend of Chávez, and others like Jim McGovern, a representative of the same state, have joined the attack against Colombia. And, as usual, Patrick Leahy will go against the country. But other, more important Democrats are keeping their distance, even some who have taken a left-wing stance against Colombia in the past.We also have former President Bill Clinton and the center of the Democratic Party on our side.

However, the visit by President Uribe, trade association members and other Colombians, including a delegation representing labor unions that are not in agreement with the CUT, certainly does not hurt. Although the press, accustomed as it is to announcing football scores as soon as the game is over, will try to take stock immediately (Uribe x, Polo y), it will not be able to in this case. The results of these efforts will be evident only when the US Congress approves or rejects the treaty and assistance for Colombia. The FTA and the Consolidation Plan, which is the successor to Plan Colombia, are extremely important to the country. The coming weeks will be crucial to the future of economic growth and the consolidation of security in Colombia.

DAS – Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad. It is responsible for compiling national criminal records, immigration, strategic intelligence, and other duties.