Senator Piedad Cordoba said Tuesday that she would not be intimidated by the inspector general’s decision to bar her from public office for 18 years for her alleged ties with the FARC.
Cordoba said the Inspector General’s decision is “criminalizing humanitarian work,” and that she has only been trying to achieve peace in the country. The Liberal senator said that she will take the necessary actions to prove that she is innocent of the “FARC-politics” allegations.
“I want to tell all the hostages in Colombia that they can be assured that these charges are not going to intimidate or daunt me,” Cordoba said. “They should be confident that from prison, if necessary, we will continue working for freedom.”
The inspector general accuses Cordoba of having “promoted and collaborated with” the FARC. She maintains that she “never did anything against the country or authorities.”
Evidence of her collaboration with the group was allegedly found in a government examination of the computer files of deceased FARC commander “Raul Reyes.” The senator admits to meeting once with the now-deceased senior guerrilla.
The inspector general said his investigation established “with certainty” that Cordoba advised the FARC to send voice recordings rather than videos of hostages. He also accuses her of making public statements that “further the interests of the subversive group.”
Cordoba is a highly controversial public figure in Colombia and was often accused by former President Alvaro Uribe of having ties to the FARC. The senator is head of Colombians for Peace, a group of prominent citizens calling on the government and guerrillas to seek a political solution to the country’s 46-year-old violent conflict, and has in the past negotiated the release of a number of hostages held by the FARC. Cordoba was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.