A CNN interview with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos sparks a new flurry of angry tweets from his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe.
The journalist who conducted the interview for Spanish CNN, Patricia Janiot tweeted at Uribe that Santos said “the war against drugs has been like riding a bike,” to which Uribe replied “this is quite the contrary to what [Santos] said as defense minister and presidential candidate.”
The exchange prompted several further tweets from Uribe criticizing his presidential successor, who he feels has not lived up to his campaign promises.
“The government abandoned platform lies they chose with bureaucratic excuses,” read one of the tweets.
For his part, Santos said “he doesn’t lose sleep” over his predecessor’s tweets, which frequently criticize him and his adminstration, despite the two men being former political allies.
Commentators believe Santos’ policies recognizing Colombia’s armed conflict and its victims of the state, his efforts to prosecute corrupt politicians, many of whom were protected during Uribe’s regime, as well as his willingness to discuss the legalization of drugs as the main reasons behind the two leaders’ ongoing rift.