Hillary's Latin America: DK: Hillary's Legacy of Blood Money in Colombia [View all]

[amborin]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/16/1459730/-Sec-Clinton-s-legacy-Colombia-blood-money

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has made foreign policy a center piece of her 2016 brand. Specifically, she has emphasized the Secretary-of-State term (2009-2013) in the Obama administration. In that period, several events of some significance occurred. Events in Colombia, in particular the free-trade agreement between the United States and Colombia, are one of them.

Her Colombian legacy is one of ill-gotten gains and the violence inspired by such insatiable greed, of blood money. That is the subject of this article.
Background
Colombia travel advisory map. Yellow: Caution, Orange: Reconsider, Red: Do not travel.

Colombia has been rife with conflict due to the ongoing insurgency (spanning decades) of the FARC, among others. Needless to say, the United States was heavily involved in this fight, both due to its “War on Drugs” & and its “War on Communism”. This confluence of anti-Leftism & the drug wars has led to significant human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings, civilian displacement, and other sorts of violence. From Human Rights Watch: “Human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, and other community activists face death threats and violence.”

The 2000s brought some changes, as reported by Human Rights Watch: [previous citation]

“Between 2003 and 2006, right-wing paramilitary organizations with close ties to security forces and politicians underwent a deeply flawed government demobilization process in which many members remained active and reorganized into new groups. Successor groups to paramilitaries, often led by members of demobilized paramilitary organizations, commit widespread abuses, such as killings, disappearances, and sexual violence.”

In 2006 a free-trade agreement between the United States & Colombia was signed by the Bush administration, but not approved before the term ended. At the same time, during the 2008 presidential race, as NPR reports: “When running for president in 2007 and 2008, [Clinton] spoke strongly against potential agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.” So strongly in-fact that she [via NPR citation] “...will do everything I can to urge the Congress to reject the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.”

As the agreement was signed, all eyes turned to the Congress and the burgeoning presidential race, and that’s where this article begins.
Analysis

The Bush administration sent the bill to Congress in April, 2007. By the end of 2008, it was still not approved. At the same time, the Democratic presidential primary required an official position from the candidates.

That’s where the Clinton legacy beings.
Two sides, one issue

As reported by the L.A. Times:

“Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged Tuesday to defeat a free-trade agreement with Colombia”. A direct quote from when she spoke to the Communications Workers of America: [via NPR citation] “As I have said for months, I oppose the deal. I have spoken out against the deal, I will vote against the deal, and I will do everything I can to urge the Congress to reject the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.”

Yet at the same time: [previous NPR citation]

“Her husband was in favor of it, her campaign had to distance her from his position, and her senior strategist Mark Penn was demoted because of ties to Colombia through his communications firm.”

Or alternatively as reported by the L.A. Times: [previous citation]

“Her camp acknowledged reports that Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, supports the deal with Colombia” & “Penn was demoted last weekend from his job as the campaign's chief strategist over his business contact with the Colombian government in his role as head of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.”

Coincidentally, the Clinton Foundation has also received money from these pro-agreement interests.

That’s not all, as reported by the Huffington Post:

“Former President Bill Clinton has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars speaking on behalf of a Colombia-based group pushing the trade pact, and representatives of that organization tell The Huffington Post that the former president shared their sentiment.”

Tellingly, as Andres Franco was quoted: [via Huffington Post citation]

“Right now it became a campaign issues and that is sad, because it needs to go through.”

In 2007, Bill Clinton got a government award in a push to better Colombia’s representation and increase approval for the agreement. Bill Clinton’s support was so valuable that it was even trumpeted by the Colombian government. When asked during the campaign about this conflict-of-interest, her response was, among others:

In contrast: [previous Huffington Post citation]

“In May, former Vice President Al Gore backed out of an environmental conference to avoid appearing alongside Uribe, concerned about his countries poor humanitarian practices.”

Bernie Sanders: [via Progressive]

”Mr. President, what about the Colombia trade agreement? It is understandable why the CEOs of multi-national corporations would like this free trade agreement. After all, Colombia is one of the most anti-union countries on the planet. Since 1986, over 2,800 trade unionists have been assassinated in Colombia -- more than the rest of the world combined. Less than 6 percent of these murders have been prosecuted by the Colombian government. Last year alone, more than 50 trade unionists were assassinated in Colombia, up nine percent from 2009. 23 trade unionists have been murdered this year alone... Mr. President, think for a moment. If we found out that 50 CEOs had been assassinated last year in Colombia, do you think we would be on the verge of approving a free trade agreement with that country? I don't think so.”

Flip-flopping past the Graveyard

When Barack Obama won the presidency, he appointed Hillary Clinton to be Secretary-of-State. In that position, she began the final push for the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, in spite of her past positions and ignoring union pleas.

As she stated to RCN television: [via previous NPR citation]

“First, let me underscore President Obama's and my commitment to the Free Trade Agreement. We are going to continue to work to obtain the votes in the Congress to be able to pass it. We think it's strongly in the interests of both Colombia and the United States. And I return very invigorated ... to begin a very intensive effort to try to obtain the votes