Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday directly accused ex-President Alvaro Uribe of spreading false information in an attempt to affect politics.
Santos condemned Uribe by name for fabricating a story about an alleged attack on the governor of the northern La Guajira department.
“Uribe said on the radio that yes, there was an attack against the governor of La Guajira […] it is incredible that they continue to insist on these kinds of manipulations of information to cause political effects,” the President claimed.
Governor Juan Francisco Gomez’s press secretary, Katrin Bolaño, told Colombia Reports that there was no attempt on the life of the governor. “Security Forces found two cylinder bombs abandoned in the street,” said the secretary. “The bombs were more than eighty meters [262 ft.] from the house of the governor … There is one police station and two schools closer to where the bombs were found.”
“The governor thinks this is an irresponsible act on behalf of the ex-president and it’s an attack on the institutional credibility of the army and the police,” said Bolaño.
The President called Uribe “irresponsible” for spreading false information about terrorist acts, which he said affects both the armed forces and “the patience of Colombians.”
The head of state believes there are some people who want to see “non-existent agreements” to bring the ongoing peace talks between the government and the country’s largest rebel group, FARC, to an end.
“It is being said that we have already handed over the rural reserves to be managed by the FARC, which is pure fiction […] they are inventing all sorts of stories to try to poison the talks,” Santos explained.
The head of state reiterated to guerrillas that there will be no cease fire or truce from the government during the peace process.
MORE: No ceasefire with FARC until peace accord reached: Santos
“I have told [the FARC], those who want a ceasefire, we need to reach an agreement quickly to avoid prolonging the conflict and bring it to an end,” Santos said.
Sources
- En choques de Santos y Uribe el presidente sube el tono (El Espectador)
- Santos, con nombre propio, acusó a Uribe de querer envenenar proceso de paz (El Espectador)
- Santos dice que Uribe, con críticas, manipula información para efectos políticos (Radio Caracol)
- Interview with press secretary of Juan Francisco Gomez
