Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC, have rejected accusations by former president and senator-elect Alvaro Uribe that they forced voters re-elect the incumbent president “with a gun to the neck.”
In a press release on Sunday, the FARC dismissed accusations from Uribe of their alleged involvement in electoral fraud and armed coercion, which led to the re-election of President Juan Manuel Santos.
MORE: FARC forced Colombians to vote for Santos with ‘a gun to the neck’: Uribe
“This [accusation] without a doubt has to do with another episode of lies and delirium of this recognized enemy of peace and reconciliation [Uribe] of all Colombians,” the FARC statement read.
According to the FARC, it is ridiculous that Uribe is accusing them of electoral fraud and violence against voters when “direct coercion on the voter by the paramilitaries during [Uribe’s] two presidential terms and the recent elections where Uribe was elected senator, is a known fact throughout the country.”
Colombia’s largest guerrilla group accused the former head of state of using the same “vile methods of intimidation and extortion,” of which he has attributed to the rebels, according to the statement.
The rebels criticized Uribe for not presenting evidence to support his claims of the rebels’ election fraud; however, this is not the first time the ex-president has accused his enemies of serious crimes without substantiating them.
Alvaro Uribe also accused President Juan Manuel Santos of receiving $2 million of drug money during his 2010 presidential campaign. However, the Prosecutor General’s Office summoned Uribe to testify three times, but the former president never provided any evidence to support his claim.
MORE: Uribe’s has no proof of Santos drug money claim, admits lawyer
The Colombian government and the FARC have been engaged in peace talks since 2012 and are currently working on the fourth point of a six point agenda.
Alvaro Uribe and his newly-formed Democratic Center party have been outspoken critics of the peace process.
Sources
- FARC responden a Alvaro Uribe Vélez (FARC-EP)