COLOMBIA: Santos Hopes To Heal Nation...With Massive Land Reform.

                               WSJ / D. Crowe
With an approval rating of 75%, President Juan Manuel Santos wants to return 16mn acres of land to peasants...equal to the state of West Virginia...taken during the war with FARC rebels.


Santos believes the high concentration of land has contributed to his nation's ills during its decades of conflict.


"We have been a country in conflict for so many years, so many decades, centuries even, that it's time for us to heal our wounds," he said.

COLOMBIA: Prez Santos Invitation Of "Super Judge" Baltazar Garzon Divides Nation.

GUARDIAN


Controversial Spanish judge Baltazar Garzon (above) was invited by President Juan Manuel Santos to consult on human rights issues.
Now, he is working there under the auspices of the OAS.
Whomever he works for, his famous presence is stirring even more controversy.
Conservatives especially see his presence as an infringement on national sovereignty.

COLOMBIA: C.Bank Ignores Prez. Santos; Raises Benchmark Interest Rate...Again.

BLOOMBERG

For a fifth month, the central bank late Friday raised its benchmark interest rate by...25bps...to 4.25%... completely ignoring President Juan Manuel Santos’s (above) call for policy makers to pause and preserve growth.

Led by Jose Dario Uribe, the 7-member board showed remarkable independence.

An analyst observed :"Independently of what Santos says, the bank will continue to lift” rates. “Santos’s remark is entirely political. He wants to appease businesses and distance himself from what some see as an unpopular decision.”

“Exporters are worried about rate increases because they widen the spread even further between Colombia and developed nations, bringing in more cash and pressuring the peso,” said another analyst.

COLOMBIA / VENEZUELA : Budding Amistad Leads To FARC Arrest In Caracas.

LATIMES / C. Kraul

   An alleged FARC rebel was arrested in Caracas' airport after Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos personally asked Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez for help.
    The capture of Joaquin Perez Becerra, aka Alberto Martinez, is a sign of growing cooperation since Santos took office in August.
    Former President Alvaro Uribe and Chavez detested each other...and nearly went to war in 2008.

    "It's clear that cooperation between the two governments is functioning and that Santos' strategy of diplomacy is working better than the strategy of confrontation we had in the past," said professor Alejo Vargas.

COLOMBIA: 1.5 Million Protest Against Santos Policies; Santos Meets Obama In USA Over FTA Deal.

BBC/

   While President Juan Manuel Santos was in Washington meeting with President Obama about a proposed FTA, an estimated 1.5 million people peacefully took to the streets throughout Colombia...in the biggest protest against Santos' policies since he took office last August.
   Students protested proposed reforms while unionists demanded improved conditions.

    In that White House meeting with Santos, President Obama said a new FTA would boost U.S. exports to Colombia by $1 billion per year.
 “Finally we have got the green light,” said Santos.
   The Colombian government agreed to take additional steps to protect workers' rights, including the right to organize in the 4-year-stalled trade deal.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/08/2157110/fta-with-colombia-gets-green-light.html

COLOMBIA: Santos Threatens To Expel Multinational Ransom Payers.

BBC /

    Three days after 23 men working for Canada's Talisman Energy were kidnapped by FARC rebels with 22  rescued, President Santos warns he will expel multinational companies who pay ransom money for kidnapped employees' releases.
    Talisman Energy denied paying a ransom and said it always followed Colombian law.
   Some of the Talisman employees reported hearing of a 5,000 million pesos/ $2.62m deal allegedly made by the company with the FARC.
   "We can't allow anyone to keep feeding these bandits, because the only thing they're going to do with the money is create more violence and insecurity," said Santos.

COLOMBIA: Is A Dry Challenge To The Panama Canal Chinese Folly?

G.POST/ John Otis/ Analysis /

    Otis expands on China's recent discussions to build a 250 mile railroad from Colombia’s Pacific coast to a new Atlantic port to facilitate importing coal.
     He posits now that "the guerrillas have been weakened and Colombia is no longer in danger of becoming a failed state, the U.S. government has turned its attention elsewhere."
     Plus, the U.S. Congress has refused to ratify a free trade agreement because of human rights violations and lessened support for trade agreements.
     “This has been a huge slap in the face to the Colombian government,” said professor Arlene Tickner.
     “Ultimately, the motivation for this (railroad) is political,” said Mauricio Cardenas, a former Colombian government minister. “It’s a symbol that Colombia does not depend exclusively on the United States.”

COLOMBIA: China Proposes Rail Alternative To Panama Canal; Santos Would Consider Pot Legalization.

GUARDIAN/ With Map / T. Branigan/


   President Juan Manual Santos announced that China has proposed building a 220 kilometers 'dry canal' linking Colombia’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail.
   “It's a real proposal... and it is quite advanced,” Santos told The Financial Times. “I don't want to create exaggerated expectations, but it makes a lot of sense.”
   ”The studies (the Chinese) have made on the costs of transporting per ton, the cost of investment, they all work out“ added President Santos.
    The Panama Canal handles roughly 5% of the world's trade - upto 14,000 ships passing through it annually.
   ”Colombia has a very important strategic position, and we view the country as a port to the rest of Latin America,” said China's ambassador to Colombia.

 AND:   President Santos told the magazine SEMANA that he would consider legalizing marijuana to reduce violence.
“It is an alternative that we can discuss. I am not opposed to any formula that is effective” Santos said.
“And if the world decides to legalize and thinks that that is how we reduce violence and crime, I could go along with that” he added.   He said Colombia supports Bolivia’s request to have coke leaves de-criminalized.
http://en.mercopress.com/2011/02/14/colombian-president-supports-legalizing-drugs-if-it-reduces-violence-and-crime

COLOMBIA: Santos Calls FARC Prisoner Releases "Absurd Media Show."

C.REPORTS/

      President Juan Manual Santos is highly critical of recent and future prisoner releases by the FARC rebel group.
   "The downside is that again everything comes together as an absurd media show. As if the people and the world doesn't notice," Santos said. "Everything is prepared. This is hardly humanitarian."
    Santos believes the FARC is actively trying to manipulate the media to improve their image.
    FARC released one hostage Wednesday, two on Friday (hostage Armando Acuna pictured) and says it will release another two tomorrow.
FOR PRISONER RELEASE INFO:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12437860

COLOMBIA: Rains Continue; 275 Dead; $6 Billion Damage; 2 Million Affected.

BBC/
  Almost 300 people have died from floods and landslides.
   President Juan Manual Santos estimates damage at $5-6 billion usd.
   Water is still flooding towns and land in the north where a levee along the Dique Canal ruptured at the end of November.
    Many roads have been been blocked or damaged by flood waters or landslides and more than 600 schools have also been damaged, keeping more than 300,000 students from attending.

FOR MORE DETAILED ACCOUNT, SEE:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=381636&CategoryId=12393

COLOMBIA/CUBA/ SERBIA/ UKRAINE/ VENEZUELA: 11Dec. UPDATE: Colombia Attends Nobel Ceremony; Serbia Caves After EU Chides It For Boycott.

NYTIMES/
    16 countries including 3 nations covered in this news blog - Cuba, Ukraine, and Venezuela - boycotted the ceremony awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (pictured).
     China was mightily angered that the Nobel committee chose Liu, who is serving an 11-year sentence for his essay so it reportedly pressured nations it does business with to stay away from Oslo.
      China reportedly warned diplomats in Oslo not to attend and said there would be "consequences" if they did so.
     Cuba and Venezuela kowtowed to econovore China's wish. As did Ukraine following Mother Russia and Putin's lead.
    At first, Colombia was among the countries listed NOT to attend, blaming a scheduling conflict with the Nobel ceremony for literature. But, after criticism, Colombia found a way to be attend.
     Meanwhile, Serbia, looking for EU for entry also said it would not show-up.
    The EU warned Serbia that shunning the Nobel awards sent the wrong message for EU entry.
     Belgrade said that it had some big business deals at stake with China, ranging from loans for major coal-powered plants to a bridge construction project over the Danube. But it, too, reluctantly caved-in to EU pressure at the last possible hour.
FOR  EU SERBIA WARNING DETAILS, SEE:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B747120101208%20
 
SERBIA UPDATE 09 DEC:  Serbia  defended its Chinese-led boycott of the Nobel Peace ceremony.  Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said China was a "proven friend" and that the decision was "not easy at all, and far from ideal".
FOR SERBIA RESPONSE DETAILS, SEE:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11957094

COLOMBIA: OPPENHEIMER: Santos' Drift Away From U.S. Makes It Uneasy; Ecuador Restores Relations With Santos.

M.HERALD/ A.OPPENHEIMER/ OPINION:
   "Colombia's right-of-center President Juan Manuel Santos may have been kidding when he recently said that radical leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is his ``new best friend,'' but few in Washington are laughing.
    There is a growing feeling in the U.S. capital -- especially in Congress -- that Santos is moving closer to Chávez, and shifting away from Colombia's close alliance with the United States over the past eight years."

 ALSO,  President Santos and Rafael Correa announced the restoration of full diplomatic relations broken off in March 2008 after Colombia bombed a  FARC camp in Ecuadorian territory, killing 26 including its No. 2  Raul Reyes.
 FOR MORE DETAIL, SEE:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=379837&CategoryId=14089

COLOMBIA/VENEZUELA: 1ST UPDATE: Santos Will Send Drug Trafficker To Chavez, Not U.S.; 3 Rebels Returned To Bogota From Caracas.

BBC/
           Saying he must keep a promise he made to President Hugo Chavez, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos will extradite Walid Makled, 41, an alleged Venezuelan drug kingpin arrested earlier this year to Venezuela...and not the USA where he is also wanted.
           Makled is accused of smuggling tons of cocaine into the US and claims he paid millions of dollars to senior officials in the Venezuelan government. "If I am a drug trafficker, then so are all these people from high government", he said.   Known as "the Turk" or "the Arab," he is one of the most wanted drug traffickers in the world.

     There was strong reaction in the U.S. from Rep Connie Mack, ( R.Fla). He accused the Obama administration of "a complete dropping of the ball" in a case that would have "shined the light on a lot of bad behavior by Hugo Chavez and his government. I think that we will lose vital information."
FOR  EVEN MORE DETAIL, SEE AP:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gBUExj_waZyQmlQ3WyS9-I_CIjaA?docId=746a6110f5154fe596ef1efed44d2e62

LATEST UPDATE 18 NOV.:  Perhaps playing tit-for-tat after the Makled surrender, Venezuela deported three suspected rebels to Colombia in another sign of improving relations. One allegedly is a FARC member while the other two are from the ELN.
FOR MORE DETAILS, SEE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11782613

COLOMBIA/VENEZUELA: Chavez And Santos Meet; Sign Energy Accords And Vow To Improve Relations.

AP/    Presidents Hugo Chavez and Juan Manuel Santos agreed in Caracas to strengthen ties through energy projects and improve relations.
    REUTERS reports that Venezuela will supply Colombia with 7,700 bpd of liquid fuels and Colombia's Ecopetrol may get access to the Orinoco extra heavy crude belt.
    Plans for a natural gas pipeline stretching from Venezuela to Central America will also be resurrected as will a proposal to build an oil pipeline from Venezuela's oil fields to Colombia's Pacific coast.

COLOMBIA: Santos Says Brasil And China Considering Massive Coal Infrastructure Investments.

REUTERS/
     President Juan Manuel Santos reports that China and Brazil are considering investments in coal infrastructure there to insure better access to resources.
     "The Brasilians have told me they want to make not only a railway but also a port in Carare because they're very interested in our metallurgical coal ... the Chinese are also interested in our metallurgical coal," Santos said in a statement.
     A Carare railway project would link central producers of metallurgical coal with coastal ports.
    Colombia is currently the world's No. 5 coal exporter.
   There has been a five-fold increase in foreign investment in the nation, especially in oil and mining, since 2002.

COLOMBIA: Santos' Massive Land Reform Plan.

CSMONITOR/SIBYLLA BRODZINSKY : "President Juan Manuel San­tos(Pictured) launched a bold new policy in September that aims not only to offer land to the landless, but to formalize land tenure, rationalize land use, and reverse the violent accumulation of land by illegal forces over the past two decades. In his inaugural speech in August, Mr. Santos, a centrist, vowed to give land to "those who work it with vocation and the sweat of their brow."

AND: "Opposition is coming from ranchers and landowners, as well as former paramilitary fighters who have taken up arms to form criminal gangs. At least 42 leaders of organizations fighting to regain lost land have been murdered in the past five years. Hernando Pérez was the latest victim. He was beaten to death Sept. 20, one day after participating in a government event in the northern Uraba region where Agriculture Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo had given land titles to 34 families."

COLOMBIA: "Mono Jojoy," No. 2 In FARC Command , Killed In Macarenas Raid.

NYTIMES/     Luis Suárez, 57 aka Jorge Briceno, aka "Mono Jojoy," died during an air strike in the Macarenas mountain region of Meta province. Jojoy was the leader of the FARC's strong Eastern Bloc division and had eluded capture for almost 10 years. The U.S. was offering a $5million usd reward for his arrest and conviction. President Juan Manuel Santos declared that: "The symbol of terrorism in Colombia has fallen.To the rest of the FARC: we are coming after you, we are not going to let down our guard."

COLOMBIA: 1ST UPDATE: Bomb Killed 14, Wounded 7 Police In Caqueta.

AP/   03 Sept UPDATE/   Revised figures after an police ambush reveal that 14 police were killed and 7 wounded by a roadside bomb in the state of Caqueta. 45 police were riding in a 5 truck convoy when the bomb exploded in the town of Doncello. Authorities are blaming the FARC rebels.
The attack is the first deadly attack on security forces since the inauguration of President Juan Manuel Santos (pictured) on 7 August.

COLOMBIA: 1ST UPDATE: Santos Offers $272,000 Reward After Bogota Car Bomb ; At Least 18 Injured.

NEW LINK/ LAHT / 13 AUG/    President Santos is offering a reward of $500,000 COP ($272,000 usd)   for information leading to the capture of those responsible for a car bomb that caused millions in damage in northern Bogota. The bomb exploded in the early morning next to a building complex housing Caracol Radio, the headquarters of Spain’s Agencia Efe and other corporate offices and bank branches, injuring at least 18. President Juan Manuel Santos, who took office this past weekend, described the blast as a "cowardly terrorist act". The blast caused no structural damage to buildings. While he refused to point fingers, police say the attack had the hallmarks of the FARC rebels. "Their only aim is to sow fear and that they will not achieve," Santos told reporters after visiting the scene morning. "We will continue to fight terrorism."

SEE ALSO:   http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/11331-authorities-offer-272000-reward-for-information-on-bogota-bombing.

COLOMBIA/VENEZUELA: Santos And Chavez Repair Relations.

NYTIMES/ ANALYSIS /
SIMON ROMERO/       Colombia's coastal city of Santa Marta was the scene for the sudden reconciliation between the two ideologically opposed leaders. The meeting's tone was conciliatory perhaps because of the economic damage  to both countries caused by recent tensions. Trade between Colombia and Venezueladropped more than 30% in 2009, after Venezuela imposed restrictions on Colombian imports. There were agreements to restore relations, improve border patrols and to plan for repayments of  $800 million owed to Colombian companies.