New Blood ?

After some time away on leave, I am back with some "fresh" news on Colombia..

Italy and Colombia, two worlds apart, so far, so close

It's good to be back

Article by Alessandro Di Battista (from beppegrillo.it)

“Contrary to what people might think, Colombia is a country very similar to Italy. They’ve got sea and mountains. They do marvellous things to preserve the meat of the pig. The women are splendid and part of the institutions come to agreements with organised crime.

Let’s be sure we understand each other, the “agreements“ are still products that are “made in Italy”. We have the trade mark, but by now, with globalisation, they’re found all over the world.
In 2001, senators, mayors, and governors of Colombia signed the Ralito Pact which was an attempt to bring forth a project to relaunch the country, a sort of Caribbean version of Gelli’s Plan of Democratic Renewal.

It was signed not only by politicians but also by some of the bosses of narco-paramilitarism who were the most powerful at that time. It was signed by Diego Fernando Murillo, also known as Don Berna, who was for years the boss of Medellin and it was signed by Salvatore Mancuso a narco friend of the Calabrian mafia.

Don Berna and Mancuso were leaders of the AUC (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia), a paramilitary organisation that terrorised the people of Columbia for years. The founder of the AUC, Carlos Castaño, was perhaps the most influential criminal in Colombia. The AUC, in agreement with the corrupt secret services, and with parts of the police and of the army was responsible for the annihilation of the “Unione Patriottica” (UP), the left wing party in Colombia. Between 1985 and 2002, thousands of UP supporters were murdered, cut into pieces while still alive, and the pieces thrown into the Magdalena River. The AUC that was financed using dollars from drug trafficking, but also with donations from private companies as well as from national and multinational companies, was able to act with total impunity.

In spite of the fact that the powerful people are truly powerful, there are lots of people in Sicily as there are in Antioquia who, every day, are fighting against the arrogance of crime, against the law of the jungle, and against the killers of the powerful and those of poverty. I interviewed courageous journalists, young prosecutors and students who are tired of the fatalism all around. It’s really true what De André, said: that from diamonds nothing is created, from manure, flowers spring to life";.

Alessandro Di Battista (follow him on Twitter)
Alessandro Di Battista is the author of the book "Sicari a 5 euro" {assassins at 5 euros} to be published shortly.