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Why the US Government is pushing for the liberation of “Simón Trinidad” of the FARC-EP
The lawyer of “Simón Trinidad,” the chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia –FARC- currently imprisoned in the United States, announced that the negotiations for the liberation of his defendant have advanced to “high-level talks” between the Colombian government and the United States government. The Uribismo (far right political line) and the sectors opposed to the peace process are strongly against these negotiations, but the primary efforts for the liberation of the guerrilla chief are being pushed for by delegates of President Barack Obama.
Mark Burton, the American lawyer who represents the guerrilla chief in the US, was consulted by alternative medias and assured that “in any moment he will be free,” he considers the Colombian guerrilla a “historic intellectual leader.” Burton noted that “informally the Colombian government has held high-level talk with the United States government…; the government is thinking that he will leave when the agreement is ready to be signed, but the FARC want him now.”
Negotiations of the United States: Not Only the FARC Want His Liberty
“A clear sign from the United States,” Juan Manuel Santos used these words referring to the designation of the veteran diplomat Bernard Aronson as the Special Delegate of President Barack Obama to the peace process in Colombia. Santos met with Aronson at the end of February in Bogotá. Aronson, in the name of the United States, held meetings at the beginning of March with delegates of the Colombian Government and the FARC in Havana, Cuba. The guerrilla also welcomed his designation. They expressed in a communiqué that this direct participation is “a necessity, taking into account the permanent presence and impact that the United States has in the political, economic, and social life of Colombia.” They also declared support for “the confidence held by the government of Barack Obama and Secretary Kerry of the possibility that in the midst of the obstacles, there will be a search for a negotiated peace in Colombia.”
The expectations generated by the presence of Aronson in Havana were linked with the possible repatriation of “Simón Trinidad.” Shlomon Ben Ami, former Israeli foreign minister and advisor to the peace process, confirmed that the Executive branch of the Colombian Government has spoken with the Vice President of the United States of America about the possibility of the imprisoned FARC chief integrating into the Peace Talks in Havana.
“The decision of a pardon, and in this case the arrival of Trinidad to the negotiation table, would be a decision that would show the support of the United States to the peace process,” explained Luis Eduardo Celis, researcher from the Foundation Peace and Reconciliation. As to the interests of the United States, Celis stated, “if peace is reached with the FARC, it would be a huge win against drug trafficking, it takes away the label for one of the groups accused of being the largest cartel that profits from the drug trade.
Reenergizing the Peace Talks in Havana
The possible liberation of Simón Trinidad, and his incorporation to the Negotiation Table in Havana, would be an overwhelming gesture to further channel relations between the Colombian government and the FARC. Moreover, by the way they are managing Trinidad’s release also is a boost of support from the US government to the negotiation table in Havana, understandable only within a certain expectation of deepening the global process of negotiations.