{"id":932,"date":"2019-03-27T03:22:11","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T03:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsnewsforyou.com\/?p=932"},"modified":"2019-03-27T03:22:11","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T03:22:11","slug":"colombian-resistance-against-the-odebrecht-nurtured-mafia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=932","title":{"rendered":"Colombian resistance against the Odebrecht-nurtured mafia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ruta del Sol highway in Colombia \/ Odebrecht offices<\/i><\/p>\n

Invisibility serves the abuse of power only too well in
\nthe continued struggle of ordinary Colombians. Thus, understanding the context
\nof recent astounding events in this nation, post peace-accords, is essential, because
\nit is illustrative of the difficult path to be traversed towards real peace and
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n

In June 2018 \u2013 when it looked like an alliance of opposition
\npolitical forces (consisting of the progressive Colombia Humana \/ Decentes, the
\nGreen Alliance and the left Polo Democratico) might just win the general
\nelections and achieve a massive turn-around for this nation \u2013 the usual lot got
\nback into power (54% versus 42%), to a certain degree helped by intimidation
\nand vote buying. [1]<\/p>\n

Let us be clear. What Colombians now have is not just
\na \u201cright-wing\u201d government. It is a government infused with callousness, incompetence
\nand deceit, where that minority who bleed the country dry, (and often literally
\nto death \u2013 at least 533 human rights defenders have been killed since 2016 [2]),
\ncontinue to implement a moribund and savage version of neo-liberalism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That is the creed: an inhumane project elaborated via a
\ndual minority elite business\/latifundial alliance working hand-in-hand with military\/narco-paramilitary
\nsupport, financed by billions of war-dollars from abroad \u2013 ostensibly, to
\nsequentially, and unsuccessfully, \u201cfight communism\u201d, \u201ceradicate the drug-trade\u201d
\nand \u201cget rid of terrorism\u201d.<\/p>\n

In truth, the
\nbillions of military funds invested have actually gone into cementing a
\nruthless state and its repressive apparatus, in favour of its cronies, thriving
\nin a country where the \u201coldest democracy on the continent\u201d paradoxically exists
\nalongside extreme inequality and injustice. And, even though most conflict with
\nthe largest guerrilla organization, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia
\n(FARC) has now stopped, there are now persistent attempts at watering down the
\nPeace Agreements and negotiations with the other major guerrilla combatants,
\nthe Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN), has ground to a halt.<\/p>\n

So it is that, this August 2018, under far-right
\nex-president Alvaro Uribe\u2019s tutelage, Ivan Duque, ex-technocrat for the
\nInteramerican Bank for International development (IBID) and, despite disproven
\nHarvard qualifications, took the presidency. In these last brief 100 days, whilst
\nthe country convulses from crisis to crisis, Duque appears to perform with
\npre-programmed ideological vacuousness.<\/p>\n

In these last brief 100
\ndays, whilst the country convulses from crisis to crisis, Duque appears to
\nperform with pre-programmed ideological vacuousness.<\/p>\n

Now and again, he makes an appearance to threaten on-going
\nnational protests called by beleaguered social movements and trade-unions. This
\nhe does with the help of his new defence minister, Guillermo Botero – an
\nindustrialist and firm believer in the glyphosphate fumigation of coca
\nplantations and the curbing of peaceful protest, via the ESMAD riot squads, if
\nnecessary.<\/p>\n

Duque, via Finance Minister, Alberto Carrasquilla, has
\ngone back on pre-election promises to avoid over-taxing the poor and to
\nproperly invest in education and health, to name a few. Support for
\nanti-corruption initiatives is tepid and the urgency of climate change has also
\nby-passed this administration. The national plan is to carry on with fossil
\nfuel exporting, including fracking [3]
\n.<\/p>\n

The omens for the next four years have not been good.
\nHis approval rating is now at 22% [4].
\nBut Duque is not recognizably the string-puller, but part of the grand plan.
\nThis is now even more evident, especially after the sudden deaths of Aval Group
\nauditor, Jorge Enrique Pizano, on 8 November 2018, and the cyanide poisoning of
\nhis son, three days later, both key witnesses in the Odebrecht scandal in
\nColombia.<\/p>\n

As is well known, Brazilian infrastructure giant
\nOdebrecht has been implicated in huge bribery scandals all over Latin America [5].
\nIn most countries judicial prosecutions are in progress. In Colombia, however,
\nbringing those guilty to justice has been slow and often obstructed.<\/p>\n

But, in foreboding of his death or disappearance,
\nPizano left his investigative evidence with a number of reliable journalists and
\nparliamentarians \u2013 including Senator Gustavo Petro of the Colombia Humana \/ Decentes
\nmovement. The video, recordings and documents referred to the suspected corruption
\nhe found in his auditing of the accounts of some of Odebrecht\u2019s key business
\npartners. In particular, the Corficolombiana bank, part of the Aval group, both
\nowned by Colombia\u2019s richest man, the banker Luis Carlos Sarmiento [6].\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pizano also refers in the documents and recordings to
\ninexplicable lack of cooperation by Sarmiento\u2019s then lawyer, Nestor Humberto
\nMartinez (NHM). The paradox is that the latter is now in post, as Colombia\u2019s Chief
\nProsecutor – in charge of investigating Odebrecht corruption. And further, he
\ndenies prior knowledge of Pizano\u2019s accusations \u2013 despite audio recordings by
\nPizano, which disprove that.[7]<\/p>\n

Senators Jorge Robledo, Gustavo Petro and Angelica Lozano<\/i><\/p>\n

Last week therefore, on Tuesday 27th
\nNovember 2018, a historical emergency debate on Odebrecht corruption was scheduled
\nby senators of the opposition. The 8-hour long session was led by opposition
\nSenators, Gustavo Petro, Jorge Enrique Robledo (Polo Democr\u00e1tico), and Angelica
\nLozano (Green Party). \u00a0It was one of
\nthose earth-shattering moments when business-as-usual came to a shuddering
\nhalt, and the veil hiding the causes of oppression, was suddenly ripped. The raison d\u2019etre, for extreme violence and
\nrampant corruption in Colombia, was openly hung-out for all to see and judge. <\/em>And
\nit was not a pretty sight.<\/p>\n

Last week debate was one of those earth-shattering moments when business-as-usual came to a shuddering halt, and the veil hiding the causes of oppression, was suddenly ripped.<\/p>\n

The debate amply illustrated the unbelievable spider\u2019s
\nweb of relationships between Odebrecht bribes, private enterprise and the Colombian
\nstate. Both Uribe and Santo\u2019s presidential campaigns appear to have been funded
\nby Odebrecht money. And even Duque has been identified as having been present
\nat a meeting in Brazil with Odebrecht functionaries, when he was Senator, in
\n2014. (In clarification, he did state that he had left the room to go to the
\ntoilet, during bribery discussions [8]).<\/p>\n

Obviously, what Odebrecht has been interested in are the
\nlucrative infrastructure contracts it could obtain through the allocation of strategic
\nbribes to politicians and ministries. Some of the largest infrastructure
\nprojects in Colombia were handed over to Odebrecht and its collaborating
\ncompanies in Colombia [9],
\nthrough complex financial arrangements, and third parties, which render opaque
\nthe system of bribery, through fictitious firms and through overpricing, which has
\nresulted. The disaster for Colombians is that, with all too frequent
\nregularity, infrastructure projects have either been badly executed (at times
\ncausing loss of life [10])
\nand\/or exponentially expensive, causing great strains on public funds.<\/p>\n

According to the evidence presented at the Senate
\ndebate [11],
\nOdebrecht\u2019s declaration to the US Department of Justice, recently, seems to
\nhave under-played both the number of fictitious construction contracts and
\namounts of money laundered as bribes, in Colombia [12].
\nOnly about a 1\/3 of transactions seem to be accounted for, and in further the
\nColombian State Prosecutors Office has been slow to investigate.<\/p>\n

Most worryingly, the Senators\u2019 debate indicated how
\nNHM with his prior myriad posts as lawyer for several of the involved companies
\nand subsequent work as public functionary, seems to have acted as both architect
\nand legislator for many of these questionable deals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the debate, opposition senators strongly called
\nfor NHM to immediately resign as Chief Prosecutor, due to undeclared conflicts
\nof interest. This he roundly refuses to do, and his politicized personal
\ndefence at the Senate debate, was delivered with threats to both debating
\nSenators and members of the press, who had published the details of this
\nunsavoury and questionable labyrinth of business dealings. This includes
\nnationally and internationally reputable journalists such as Daniel Coronell
\nand Maria Jimena Duzan.<\/p>\n

The latter, and others, have now been forced to appeal
\nto the UN Human Rights Commission in Colombia, to protect their freedom of
\nexpression.<\/p>\n

But the powerful corrupt undercurrents in Colombia
\ncannot forgive the Senators, most especially, Gustavo Petro. Senator Petro has
\nbeen a thorn in their side since his key debates back in 2007 revealed the
\nlinks between politicians, corrupt business and the human rights abuses of the narco-paramilitary
\nmafia.<\/p>\n

The latter, and their closest allies in government \u2013 the
\nCentro Democratico party \u2013 have been trying to remove Gustavo Petro from
\npolitics for years. It is as well to recall that, during his time as Mayor of
\nBogota (2012-2015), they tried to destitute him at least 3 times, with unsuccessful
\nand archaic accusations of \u201cthreats to privatization\u201d, \u201cchaos in waste
\ndisposal\u201d (for giving jobs to recyclers) and the \u201ccrime of allocating transport
\nsubsidies to the poor\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

An attempt to disqualify him from public office for a
\nperiod of at least 15 years was, also unsuccessful, in 2017, after intervention
\nfrom the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights. They have, though, managed
\nto practically bankrupt him by reviving (previously legally shelved) fines for
\nthe above \u201ccrimes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Chief Prosecutor Martinez acknowledged to be using the Fiscalia to hack and spy on, what he considers to be, targets, including Senator Petro.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, it is unsurprising that ever since Petro and the Colombia
\nHumana \/ Decentes political movement and its allies, won 8 million votes, last 17
\nJune 2018, compared to Duque\u2019s 10 million, the establishment started to get a
\nbit concerned. The death threats and illegal set-ups against the opposition,
\nhave therefore been stepped up once more.<\/p>\n

During his rather inappropriate and irate defence last
\nTuesday, Chief Prosecutor Martinez acknowledged to be using the Fiscalia to
\nhack and spy on, what he considers to be, targets, including Senator Petro. The
\nproblem is that there appears to be little judicial control, as to who is
\ntargeted.<\/p>\n

To many Colombians, this harks back to the time during
\nAlvaro Uribe\u2019s government (2002-2010) when the Departamento Administrativo de
\nSeguridad (DAS \u2013 Administrative Department of Security) was used to eavesdrop
\nand spy on the opposition. Back then, this was not just unlawful phone hacking \u2013
\nthe names and personal details of the people hacked were then passed on to
\nparamilitary death squads and many innocent people were, not only targeted, but
\nassassinated.<\/p>\n

Things got so bad that the DAS has now been disbanded.
\nAnd now? How is this is being regulated by a Chief Prosecutor, whose role is
\nunder severe scrutiny?<\/p>\n

At the end of the historic debate last week, Paloma
\nValencia, a somewhat unhinged Centro Democr\u00e1tico senator, purported to show
\nevidence of dodgy dealings by Gustavo Petro by playing a (conveniently silent
\n14-year-old) video, where he is seen to receive cash from an unknown source.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week, that has proved to be another fabricated set-up
\nagainst Petro. It turns out the money handed over was US$6000 meant as campaign
\ndonations from sympathisers, which were duly declared to the National Electoral
\nCommission (CNE).\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the bought-media have taken this opportunity to tone
\ndown coverage of the Odebrecht scandal, despite its remaining improperly investigated,
\nand involving sums totalling, at least, US$50 million, in irregular payments.
\nEven so, whilst the enormity of the Odebrecht-Aval-Martinez labyrinth is
\nignored, Gustavo Petro now faces a Fiscal\u00eda (Public Prosecutors) investigation,
\nwith Nestor Humberto Martinez, as Chief Prosecutor.<\/p>\n

It looks to everyone like the country is being manipulated by an all-encompassing mafia who have captured not just significant public works, but, quite possibly, sectors of the institutions of justice, as well.<\/p>\n

But recent events do mean that corruption have fewer
\nplaces to hide and Colombians are unsurprisingly thoroughly disgusted at the
\nsight. It looks to everyone like the country is being manipulated by an
\nall-encompassing mafia who have captured not just significant public works, but,
\nquite possibly, sectors of the institutions of justice, as well [13].<\/p>\n

In response, the corrupt networks have now launched death
\nthreats on all cylinders. Those feeling exposed are clearly still hoping to
\nsilence their critics and, at the very least, do a Lula-like coup on Petro, before
\ntoo long.<\/p>\n

However, in Colombia, resistance to decades of
\nrepression will not be silenced.<\/p>\n

Journalist & twitter activist MaFe Carrascal and Colombia\u2019s richest man, banker Luis Carlos Sarmiento<\/i><\/p>\n

A national general strike by thousands of students,
\ntrade unionists, indigenous and campesino peoples is still on-going.
\nAdditionally, activists on twitter have this week asked everyone to move their
\nmoney and pensions from Sarmiento Angulo\u2019s banking empire to other entities,
\nincluding the public pension system, which will actually result in better final
\nyields.<\/p>\n

All this despite ESMAD violence and legal threats to
\nthe activists from Duque\u2019s vice-president, Marta Lucia Ramirez, \u201cfor generating
\nfinancial panic\u201d. Ramirez\u2019 dilemma is that her threat is in direct opposition
\nto her government\u2019s much-lauded neo-liberal value of \u201cfreedom of choice\u201d.<\/p>\n

In any case, social media have rubbished her warnings and
\nthousands have closed their Aval group accounts. Sarmiento\u2019s Aval group is dive-bombing
\nin the stock exchange.<\/p>\n

Colombia now has an institutional crisis on a huge
\nscale, as citizens wonder what faith can be had in a government that, not only bars
\nthe opposition from lawful debate, as happened twice this week[14],
\nbut which also allows its Chief Prosecutor to carry on in this astonishing and
\nanomalous manner [15].<\/p>\n

\n

[1] https:\/\/colombiareports.com\/colombias-leading-political-publication-confirms-election-fraud-claims\/<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.elcolombiano.com\/colombia\/politica\/asi-opero-la-red-criminal-de-las-elecciones-al-congreso-2018-MF8896934<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0 Indepaz (2018) All of the
\nNames, All of the Faces \u2013 Human Rights status report on Leaders and defenders
\nof\u00a0 Human Rights in the territories <\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.indepaz.org.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Action-Report-Nov-19.pdf\u00a0<\/p>\n

[3] https:\/\/amp.elespectador.com\/noticias\/politica\/los-cien-dias-de-duque-vistos-por-petro-artificios-levedad-y-pinata-articulo-823401?__twitter_impression=true<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.desdeabajo.info\/colombia\/item\/35515-la-dura-pelea-contra-el-fracking-en-colombia.html<\/p>\n

[4] https:\/\/www.eltiempo.com\/politica\/gobierno\/encuesta-datexto-sobre-la-desaprobacion-de-duque-300770?hootPostID=6c294bf05c1148abcb7571ade36bece4<\/p>\n

[5] Deutsche Welle 19\/11\/2018 https:\/\/www.dw.com\/es\/la-cadena-de-corrupci%C3%B3n-de-odebrecht-los-casos-m%C3%A1s-destacados-en-am%C3%A9rica-latina\/a-46367480<\/p>\n

[6] Billionaire #123 in the World. Through Corficolombiana, Aval's
\ninvestment bank, Sarmiento owns an array of interests in infrastructure,
\nagribusiness, energy and tourism. https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/billionaires\/profiles\/luis-c-sarmiento-angulo\/<\/p>\n

[7] After the Senators debate of 27\/11\/2018, and particularly Senator
\nGustavo Petro\u2019s intervention – there is now ample coverage of the various chain
\nof events and individual acts of bribery in Colombia and elsewhere. See for
\nexample, Semana 27\/11\/2018<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.semana.com\/nacion\/articulo\/los-cinco-hechos-de-soborno-de-odebrecht-que-no-investigo-martinez-segun-petro\/592552<\/p>\n

[8] See Semana 27\/11\/2018 \u00a0https:\/\/www.semana.com\/nacion\/articulo\/los-cinco-hechos-de-soborno-de-odebrecht-que-no-investigo-martinez-segun-petro\/592552<\/p>\n

[9] For example, the Ruta del Sol
\nII <\/em>– a 500 km stretch of road linking Puerto Salgar and San Roque in the
\nNorthern Colombia region of Cesar and the Oca\u00f1a-Gamarra<\/em>
\nroute.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.semana.com\/nacion\/articulo\/los-cinco-hechos-de-soborno-de-odebrecht-que-no-investigo-martinez-segun-petro\/592552<\/p>\n

[10]
\nNot all involve Odbrecht, but Odebrecht\u2019s partner, Corficolombiana was party to
\neg: the construction of the suspension bridge Chirajara (Bogota-Villavicencio)
\nwhich collapsed in January 2018, causing 10 fatalities https:\/\/www.elespectador.com\/economia\/chirajara-una-dura-leccion-para-las-concesiones-viales-articulo-733703<\/p>\n

[11] Transcript of Senator Robledo\u2019s
\nintervention (Spanish) http:\/\/jorgerobledo.com\/la-verdad-total-sobre-odebrecht-el-debate-transcripcion-video\/<\/p>\n

Senator Gustavo Petro\u2019s intervention
\n(Spanish) https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ftA-GZANncg<\/p>\n

Angelica Lozano\u2019s intervention
\n(Spanish) https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3T1cOPMxdrk<\/p>\n

[12]
\nOdebrecht
\nhas admitted in a plea bargain with the United States\u2019 Department of Justice that
\nit paid $11m in bribes to Colombian politicians in order to obtain the Ruta del
\nSol contract. Both Grupo Aval and Mr Mart\u00ednez denied prior knowledge of these
\npayments, and of any subsequent ones<\/em>. The Economist 17 November 2018<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.economist.com\/the-americas\/2018\/11\/17\/colombias-biggest-corruption-scandal-gets-more-complicated<\/p>\n

[13] https:\/\/www.elespectador.com\/opinion\/de-conspiraciones-columna-826758<\/p>\n

[14] https:\/\/jorgerobledo.com\/mayorias-gobiernistas-en-el-senado-le-niegan-sus-derechos-a-la-oposicion-robledo\/\u00a0<\/p>\n

[15] https:\/\/elpais.com\/elpais\/2018\/11\/28\/opinion\/1543432435_999841.html<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ruta del Sol highway in Colombia \/ Odebrecht offices Invisibility serves the abuse of power only too well in the continued struggle of ordinary Colombians. Thus, understanding the context of recent astounding events in this nation, post peace-accords, is essential, because it is illustrative of the difficult path to be traversed towards real peace and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}