By Cliff Montgomery – Aug. 28th, 2011
U.S. government aid to Columbia may have been diverted to undermine and attack union activists in the SouthAmerican country, according to press reports and American union officials.
“New revelations in long-running political scandals under former president Alvaro Uribe, a close U.S. allythroughout his eight-year tenure,” said The Washington Post on August 20th, “have implicated American aid–and possibly U.S. officials–in egregious abuses of power and illegal actions by the Colombian government.”
These abuses have occurred “under the guise of fighting terrorism and drug smuggling,” according to the Post.
“American cash, equipment and training, supplied to elite units of the Colombian intelligence service over thepast decade to help smash cocaine-trafficking rings,” continued the Post, “were used to carry out spyingoperations and smear campaigns against Supreme Court justices, Uribe’s political opponents and civil societygroups.”
Many of these “political opponents and civil society groups” have been union activists, according to the Post.
One “[Columbian] unit that operated for eight months in 2005, the Group to Analyze Terrorist OrganizationMedia, assembled dossiers on labor leaders, broke into their offices and videotaped union activists,” statedthe Post.
“The United States provided equipment and tens of thousands of dollars, according to an internal DAS[Columbia’s Department of Administrative Security] report, and the unit’s members regularly met with a [U.S.]embassy official they remembered as ‘Chris Sullivan.’
” ‘When we were advancing on certain activities, he would go to see how we were advancing,’ Jose GabrielJimenez, a former analyst in the unit, said during a court hearing,” stated the Post.
Incidentally, “for more than a decade, under three administrations, Colombia has been Washington’s closestfriend in Latin America,” declared the Post, “and the biggest recipient of [U.S.] military and economicassistance — $6 billion during Uribe’s 2002-10 presidency.
“Two U.S. unions on Wednesday called for a House Select Intelligence Committee investigation into a possiblemisuse of American government aid to Colombia.
United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard and Communications Workers of America(CWA) International President Larry Cohen issued the following joint statement Wednesday:
“Colombia has the worst record of any country in the world when it comes to violence against union leadersand activists,” said the union presidents.
“Press reports allege that the United States provided aid, equipment and training that Colombian officialswrongly exploited in ways that endangered labor leaders and activists. The Select Intelligence Committee musttake these allegations seriously and aggressively investigate abuse of U.S. government support andassistance by Colombia.”
“Congress is being asked to consider the U.S.-Colombian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this fall,” theycontinued.
“For many years, organized labor and many members of Congress have criticized Colombia’s labor laws andunconscionable record of violence against labor leaders and activists. If U.S. assistance fueled Colombia’sactions in this area, it not only highlights the unacceptable track record of the Colombian government butundermines any conceivable legitimacy of an FTA with Colombia,” the union representatives stated.
“These new allegations must be thoroughly investigated before Congress considers any agreement,” theyadded.
“Colombia has not done enough to address the flaws in its laws to protect workers’ rights. It has done little toaddress the continuing violence against union activists. And it has done almost nothing to bring to justicethose who have perpetrated past crimes.
“These new charges about Colombia’s use of U.S. aid raise serious questions about the country’s commitmentto address these critical issues,” the union presidents declared.
“Colombia should not be rewarded with an FTA until the workers in that country have the rights they deserveand the confidence, that in exercising those internationally-recognized rights, they will not be subject toviolence. A full investigation is necessary and Congress must shelf the proposed FTA until after Congress andthe public, have all of the facts,” they continued.
Union Presidents Gerard and Cohen on Wednesday also sent a letter to House Select Intelligence Committeemember U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, asking for her help in beginning a panel investigation into theseallegations.
