[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H4155-H4156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                U.S.-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Weller) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker and ladies and gentlemen of the 
House, I rise to ask what I consider to be pretty fair questions. That 
is, if you are in Latin America and you ask anyone in Latin America 
which country is America's most reliable ally, they likely would say 
the Republic of Colombia. If you ask anyone in Latin America which 
political leader in Latin America is America's best partner and most 
reliable partner, they would say President Uribe, the democratically 
elected President of Colombia. Ladies and gentlemen, if you asked in 
Latin America who is the most popular political figure in the entire 
hemisphere in his own nation, you would discover it's President Uribe, 
the President of Colombia, who has an over 83 percent approval rating.
  Why? Because he has made tremendous progress, strengthening what is 
Latin America's longest-standing democracy, reducing violence, making 
tremendous progress against the three terrorist groups that operate and 
that have operated for the last several decades in Colombia--the two 
Communist groups of the FARC and the ELM and the right-wing 
paramilitaries. He has made tremendous progress.
  I would like, Mr. Speaker, to put into the Record two news stories 
from the BBC.
  I would note the first story I want to put into the Record is the 
announcement that President Uribe was sending 14 of Colombia's most 
notorious paramilitary drug lords to the United States to face drug 
charges.
  The second article I would like to put into the Record just ran this 
week. It was of a top commander of the FARC, which is the Communist 
narcotrafficking terrorist organization which has been fighting the 
democratically elected government of Colombia.
  In just this past week, one of their top commanders surrendered. Her 
name is Nelly Avila Moreno. Her nickname was Karina, and she is one of 
the most notorious FARC commanders. She not only surrendered but she 
called on other FARC rebels to follow her example and surrender, 
basically saying it's over; it's time to call it a day to stop the 
civil war, to stop the narcotrafficking and to reach a peace agreement 
with the democratically elected Government of Colombia.
  The reason I bring this up is, just a few weeks ago, this House, the 
Democratic majority, voted to turn its back on President Uribe. It 
voted to turn its back on the democratically elected Government of 
Colombia, America's most reliable partner. You think about it. We have 
no more reliable partner in Latin America when it comes to 
counterterrorism, to counternarcotics than the democratically elected 
Government of Colombia.
  What is interesting is we have a trade agreement, a trade promotion 
agreement, that we have reached with Colombia. It is good for the 
United States. Right now, Colombian products enter the United States 
duty-free, tax-free, but U.S. products exported to Colombia face 
tariffs and taxes. Bulldozers made in my district face taxes of up to 
12 to 15 percent, making our products less competitive with Asian 
products trying to get into the Colombian market as well. In the almost 
2 years since this trade agreement was reached, the stalling efforts by 
this democratic leadership against Colombia has cost U.S. manufacturers 
and farmers $1 billion in higher tariffs and in higher taxes on U.S. 
products.
  What I point out is this trade agreement wipes out those taxes, 
making U.S. manufactured goods, U.S. corn and soybeans more 
competitive.
  Again, Colombian products enter the United States' market duty-free 
today. They don't face those taxes when they come here, but our 
products face taxes when they go there. The folks back home whom I 
represent, they say, you know, we want an even playing field. We're 
happy to trade with anyone as long as we have an even playing field 
here. Their products come in duty-free. We want the same opportunity. 
President Uribe and the democratically elected Government of Colombia 
have agreed to do that. We just need to ratify the agreement, which is 
to the advantage of American manufacturers and to American farmers.
  Ladies and gentlemen, the reason I mention the prosecution of the

[[Page H4156]]

paramilitaries, the reason I mention the surrender by a top FARC 
commander is those who oppose reducing tariffs on U.S.-made products 
argue that Colombia just doesn't deserve it. They've not done enough 
when it comes to reducing violence and in going after the 
narcotraffickers and the terrorists.
  Under President Uribe, he has increased the prosecution budget of the 
State Attorney General, the State prosecutor for the entire country--a 
nation of 42 million people--by 72 percent in the last 2 years. He has 
added over 400 new prosecutors.
  Ladies and gentlemen, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is 
a good agreement for Illinois manufacturers, for Illinois farmers, for 
U.S. manufacturers, and for U.S. farmers. Let's ratify this agreement. 
Let's work with the best partner we have in Latin America.
  I urge the Speaker to bring to this floor the U.S.-Colombia Trade 
Promotion Agreement. Let's give it an up-or-down vote, and I believe it 
will pass with overwhelmingly bipartisan support.

                   [From the Economist, May 15, 2008]

     Free Trade in Thugs: Getting Tougher With Right-Wing Warlords

       In a surprise move on May 13th, President Alvaro Uribe 
     announced the extradition to the United States of 14 of 
     Colombia's most notorious paramilitary warlords on drug-
     trafficking charges. As well as sending a warning to other 
     right-wing paramilitaries, the aim is to show Democrats in 
     Washington that Mr. Uribe means what he says about breaking 
     with paramilitary groups who continue to murder trade 
     unionists and other left-wingers.
       Democratic congressional leaders and their trade-union 
     allies have cited those murders as a reason for their refusal 
     to approve a free-trade agreement with Colombia. Mr. Uribe 
     may also be hoping to boost his already soaring approval 
     ratings to strengthen his hand in an eventual bid for an 
     unprecedented third term as president. More than two terms in 
     a row are currently banned by the constitution, so this would 
     require approval by Congress.
       Mr. Uribe's move could backfire. Human-rights groups fear 
     that it will rob the victims of the compensation that they 
     are entitled to from their tormentors, and could also remove 
     the evidence needed for a successful investigation into why 
     Colombia's paramilitaries and their political accomplices 
     have hitherto enjoyed impunity. More than 60 congressmen, 
     most allies of Mr. Uribe, are either already in prison or 
     under investigation in Colombia for alleged links to 
     paramilitaries. Last month, Mario Uribe, the president's 
     cousin and close political ally, was arrested.
       ``The good news is that these paramilitary bosses could now 
     face serious jail time,'' said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas 
     director of Human Rights Watch, a lobbying group. (In the 
     United States, cocaine dealers can get 30 years or more.) 
     ``The bad news is they may no longer have any reason to 
     collaborate with Colombian prosecutors investigating their 
     atrocities . . . Just as local prosecutors were beginning to 
     unravel the web of paramilitary ties to prominent 
     politicians, the government has shipped the men with the most 
     information out of the country,'' he lamented.
       In fact, the United States has agreed to allow Colombian 
     prosecutors continued access to the extradited men. They have 
     also apparently agreed to transfer to Colombia any seized 
     assets or fines imposed on the warlords to compensate more 
     than 100,000 victims who have come forward. Created in the 
     1980s by wealthy ranchers to protect themselves from attacks 
     by the left-wing FARC guerrillas, the paramilitaries 
     developed into armed gangs, accused of many thousands of 
     killings as well as drug-trafficking and money-laundering.
       Explaining his decision in a televised address on May 13th, 
     Mr. Uribe said the extradited men had violated the conditions 
     of a 2003 pact with the government under which they agreed to 
     surrender to the authorities in exchange for relatively light 
     prison sentences--a maximum of eight years--and protection 
     against extradition. In return, they had promised to confess 
     to their crimes, cease all illegal activities and use their 
     drug money to compensate the victims of their appalling 
     crimes. But the 14 warlords had continued to run their 
     criminal networks from prison and had failed to pay 
     reparations, Mr. Uribe said.
       If the move was made with one eye on Washington, its timing 
     appears to have been determined by a legal wrangle. Groups 
     representing victims have been fighting to halt the 
     extraditions. This appears to have prompted Mr. Uribe's 
     decision to send the paramilitaries to the United States. 
     Colombia's Supreme Court had recently supported these groups, 
     ruling that extraditions of paramilitary bosses should be 
     carried out only after they had confessed to their crimes and 
     paid reparations. But this was overturned by a judicial 
     council last week. Within hours, the first paramilitary 
     leader to be extradited, Carlos Mario Jimenez, alias 
     ``Macaco'', was on a plane bound for the United States, a 
     journey made a week later by his 14 colleagues. More may 
     follow.
                                  ____


                            [From BBC News]

                    FARC Captive Calls for Surrender

       A top commander of the FARC rebels in Colombia has urged 
     other rebels to follow her example and surrender.
       Nelly Avila Moreno, known as Karina, handed herself in to 
     soldiers over the weekend in the latest blow to FARC.
       She said FARC was falling apart under pressure from the 
     military and growing desertions. Several key leaders have 
     been killed in recent months.
       Karina has been blamed for a string of murders and 
     abductions in the north-western Antioquia region.
       Her surrender is a coup for President Alvaro Uribe, who 
     made her a priority target for the security forces in 2002, 
     the BBC's Jeremy McDermott says.
       The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has 
     been fighting to overthrow the government for more than 40 
     years.


                            not bloodthirsty

       ``To my comrades: Change this life that your are leading in 
     the guerrilla group and re-enter society with the 
     government's reinsertion plan,'' she said at a news 
     conference called by the army in Medellin.
       Her unit had been whittled down to fewer than 50 fighters--
     down from several hundred--when she surrendered.
       Karina said she had been out of contact with FARC's seven-
     member ruling secretariat for two years.
       ``The decision [to surrender] was made because of the 
     pressure by the army in the area,'' she said.
       She said she was shaken by the killing of secretariat 
     member Ivan Rios by one of his bodyguards in March.
       The bodyguard had cut off Rios's hand and turned it in with 
     his laptop computer in return for a reward.
       The government has offered bounties for top rebel 
     commanders. Karina's was $1m (K512,000). Two weeks ago, 
     President Uribe appealed to her to surrender.
       She contacted the army who sent a helicopter to pick up her 
     and another guerrilla, known as Michin.
       She denied involvement in the 1983 murder of President 
     Uribe's father and said she was not the ``bloodthirsty'' 
     woman the authorities described her as.

     

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