Former Colombian President Andres Pastrana lashed out at Jose Obdulio Gaviria, calling the close ally of former President Alvaro Uribe an “advocate and adviser to the terrorist, drug trafficker and kidnapper Pablo Escobar.”
Pastrana did so in a letter to Roberto Pombo, director of newspaper El Tiempo in which Gaviria, the full cousin of the slain drug lord, accused the administration of Pastrana, who led the last failed peace talks with the FARC, of thinking that “the terrorists are good but misunderstood.”
"Pastranism ... led the feeling of admiration, respect and appreciation of
the genius ideas of the 'insurgents' to the climax. Pastranism thinks the
terrorists are good but misunderstood. Because of this the country
embarked on the "dialogue of Caguan" and, even more strikingly, it was not
embarrassed to bring the killers of the [FARC] secretariat to some courts,
and European governments and parliaments."
In return, Pastrana wrote Pombo sarcastically.
"It has come to my ears that an El Tiempo columnist, advocate and adviser
to to the terrorist, drug trafficker and kidnapper Pablo Escobar claims
from your pages that he thinks that what he calls "Pastranism" is "good
but misunderstood."
The exchange of snides followed a letter by FARC leader Timochenko who called on the Colombian government to pick up the peace talks of San Vicente del Caguan.
Colombia Reports relies on your financial support. Please become our patron and support independent reporting from Colombia.