Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Thursday rejected claims by an NGO that former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s signing of a military pact with the U.S. in 2009 was an act of treason, an abuse of power, and a breach of public duty.
“As president of the republic I express my vehement rejection of these unfounded and unfair accusations of those who … did nothing more than serve our country and the interests of the Colombian people,” Santos said.
‘Who could imagine that to sign an agreement to increase and make bilateral collaboration more effective against drug trafficking and terrorism would be considered treason? … As defense minister, I was the one that initiated the negotiations for this agreement. So, to the complainants, include me in the denunciation. I would be honored!” Santos continued.
“I completely respect President Uribe and his cabinet, who worked on this issue with absolute and total transparency, and with the patriotic spirit that has always characterized them. I only aspire to fight against the violent people and the criminals and to represent Colombia with the same integrity, the same firmness and the same determination as President Uribe did,” Santos said.
Santos was reacting to accusations made by La Corporacion Colectivo de Abogados Jose Alvear Restrepo, which claims that the controversial pact granting the U.S. access to at least seven Colombian military bases and civilian airports “compromises national sovereignty.”
The Colombian NGO made the allegations after the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the pact is unconstitutional until ratified by Congress.
Following the Constitutional Court’s ruling, the pact must be ratified by Colombian House of Representatives. By law, if the pact is ratified by the nation’s Congress, then it must also be ratified by U.S. Congress.
Former commander of the Colombian armed forces General Freddy Padilla said Wednesday that U.S. Congress would not ratify the pact “due to their foreign policy circumstances.”
U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Wednesdaythat Washington hopes Bogota “takes the necessary steps to preserve the bilateral military agreement,” and that in the meantime cooperation will continue under -existing agreements.
Santos said his government will study the agreement and “decide if it is worth continuing with the pact or not.”
The agreement caused tensions in the region, as neighbors Ecuador and Venezuela consider U.S. military presence in Colombia a threat to their sovereignty.