Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, has been at the center of two recent scandals that have pushed the government into apologizing and denying statements made by the minister. Santos’ blatant disregard for disciplined communication, and the unfortunate effects of his public statements, suggest that he is unprepared for the challenges of the top office in the nation.
The first of Santos’ gaffes came two weeks ago when, while in Washington to meet with American Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Santos told journalists that the Colombian intelligence agency DAS was “terminally ill and should be buried”.
The serious implications of Santos’ comments resonated in Colombia with President Uribe having to release a statement the following day claiming he had no intention of closing DAS, and referring to the agency as “important and necessary for democracy”.
The second, and most serious of Santos’ gaffes came this past week when he publicly claimed that Colombia would pursue Colombian terrorists even if they were hiding outside national borders. The comments, that suggest Colombia would invade the sovereign territory of neighboring nations if it found it to be necessary, caused international outrage in both Ecuador and Venezuela, where many top members of illegal groups are widely believed to remain in hiding. Soon after, President Uribe publicly asked Santos to be prudent when discussing international affairs and assured, once more, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the only one charged with issuing public communications in that area.
Santos’ comments were particularly ill-timed as they came nearly a year to the date of the Colombian invasion into Ecuadorian territory which resulted in the death of Raúl Reyes and sent the diplomatic relations between the two countries into a crisis that still remains.
In Venezuela, where President Chávez has expressed his dislike for Minister Santos on multiple occasions, the Venezuelan leader warned Colombia of a military response if there was an invasion of their sovereign national territory, even under the argument of self-defense.
Santos also handled the internal effects of his comments in an unfortunate way. Standing by his belief that Colombia ought to be able to pursue those who attack it, regardless of whether they are stationed within national territory, Santos, and the top military officials under his command, wrote a letter to President Uribe supporting Santos’ statements and requesting a high-priority meeting to discuss the administration’s official position on dealing with members of illegal groups in border zones. The action, which appeared to question Uribe, the Commander-in-Chief, seemed inappropriate, particularly because the disagreement was discussed publicly.
Uribe denied the request for a meeting, and reaffirmed his position regarding his administration’s willingness to respect and collaborate with neighboring nations. Alternatively, Santos and top military officials met with Foreign Affairs Minister Bermúdez in order to coordinate efforts between the two ministries. Bermúdez, who is a measured and disciplined communicator and has worked determinedly to improve relations with neighboring countries, must have been understandably displeased with the effects of Santos’ gaffe.
Santos’ willingness to become the spokesperson of governmental policy that has not been approved or discussed with the President should be reason enough to dismiss him from his cabinet post. Yet, the fact that in his tenure at the Defense post, Santos has led the most aggressive and effective effort against the FARC, seems to have saved him from the effects of his ill-fated statements.
His great success as Minister of Defense has made Santos a rising political star. While he is widely perceived as being responsible for many of the recent military successes, his apparent lack of charisma, and his perceived public persona as a real politik hard-liner make him somewhat of an unlikely hero.
Nonetheless, these two recent episodes clearly show that Santos is unfit to become Colombia’s next president. He is perceived in a terribly negative way by the leaders of neighboring countries, which will prevent him from being able to conduct effective foreign policy. Additionally, the country is going though a period in which leadership must be defined by carefully crafted communication and by strategic planning. Santos too easily dismisses both disciplined communication and comprehensive institutional collaboration. Maybe he just didn’t mean it at all.
Author Felipe Estefan is Colombian and studies media and international relations in New York
gringo michae
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... Santos s a danger to Colombia and to the region , I just wish uribe would fire him finally. |
