Raising the FARC’s stature?

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The downside of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe giving a ‘green light’ to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez last month to help mediate the release of hostages being held by leftist rebels has become apparent since the two leaders’ agreement was announced.

Control freak Uribe will have little control over the lengthy negotiation process about to begin, and he has set the stage for a significant gain in international stature for public enemy No. 1, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The FARC holds some 45 political hostages, including three U.S. defense contractor employees, some for as long as a decade, and Chavez will try to persuade the group to agree to a prisoner swap.

FARC representatives will soon meet with Chavez in Caracas as a preliminary step to Chavez talking to the rebels’ top leadership, possibly the founding rebel himself, Manuel ‘Sure Shot’ Marulanda.

Uribe presumably will be gritting his teeth as the rebels, whom he customarily describes as ‘terrorists’ and ‘bandits,’ start showing up in suits and ties at Chavez’s Miraflores palace and pose for photo opportunities. Uribe has also relinquished a leading role in the process to Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordoba, a leftist and Chavez sympathizer who will be the Colombian government’s interface with the negotiators. She is already building a public profile, meeting with hostage families and foreign leaders.

As the Bogota daily El Tiempo put it today, Cordoba has become the nation’s ‘humanitarian accord chancellor’ while the real foreign minister, Fernando Araujo, ‘spends time visiting schools recounting his days as a FARC hostage.’

Said Michael Shifter of Inter-American Dialogue in an e-mailed comment from Washington: ‘Uribe can be a big winner too — this is not necessarily a zero-sum game — especially if the hostages are released. But he needs to manage the effort with more confidence and exert discipline among his ministers and advisors. Otherwise, both Chavez and the FARC will pursue their strategic agendas, and Uribe will be carried along, with uncertain political results.’

Posted by Chris Kraul in Bogota