Colombian President Dances for U.S. Democrats

In a Suspicious Washington, Uribe Could Be His Own Worst Enemy

WASHINGTON -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was in Washington again this week, hoping to secure key congressional support for Plan Colombia and a U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement. This was Uribe's 10th visit since he was elected in 2002, but his first to a Congress under Democratic control. While this clearly made for a different Washington, the question remains: Did it make for a different Uribe?

Just last month, allegations surfaced that Uribe, Washington's best ally in South America, had a personal connection with paramilitary groups responsible for some of the worst mass killings in Colombia's history. On April 18, The Washington Post reported on charges raised at a Colombian Senate hearing that paramilitaries had plotted killings at an Uribe family farm in the 1980s.

Such assertions rattled some Democrats, particularly former Vice President Al Gore, who was slated to appear with Uribe at an environmental conference in Miami two days later. Finding the allegations "deeply troubling," Gore told the organizers of the event that he wouldn't attend if Uribe was there.

Uribe wasn't about to let Gore's rejection and the controversy at home hijack his visit to Washington. After repeated calls to Gore went unanswered, Uribe did the next best thing to address Gore's concerns -- he held not one but two news conferences, one in Bogota and another in Miami. He unequivocally stated that he "has never had a link with paramilitarismo" and called attention to the fact that he has dismantled their organization and put 60 of their top leaders in prison.

Then at the environmental conference, perhaps aware that many would be disappointed by Gore's absence, Uribe put on a show an Oscar winner would be proud of. He unveiled a biofuel plan for Colombia and then both answered and posed questions, calling upon several of his Cabinet members there with him to respond.

It was "very impressive," according to Lisa Renstrom, president of the Sierra Club. Renstrom and the other attendees had witnessed Uribe at his best: charismatic, resolute, a leader who takes charge and confronts issues openly. It was vintage Uribe, the type of performance that continues to endear him to his backers and win over new admirers.

On the eve of Uribe's latest visit to Washington, it was hard to find anyone here -- Democrat or Republican -- who shared Gore's fear of association with the man. Indeed during his three days in the capital this week, Uribe spoke at the Center for American Progress headed by John D. Podesta, former chief of staff to President Clinton, and met with the head of the AFL-CIO and with dozens of Democrats on Capitol Hill.

"Does the Gore decision reflect an attitude of the (Democratic) party as it relates to Uribe? The answer is no," Rep. William Delahunt, a longtime follower of Colombia in Congress, said in an interview. Delahunt added that he does not believe there is "any link whatsoever" between Uribe and the paramilitary killings of labor leaders -- a key concern of Democrats holding up free trade agreements on labor issues.

Still, the Gore incident had revealed a dark side of Uribe -- a petty, defensive control freak -- that fires the passions of his detractors. While he abstained in his news conferences from making personal attacks -- earlier he had called the Colombian senator who held the hearing a "mediocre guerrilla and a lucid slanderer" -- he did not refrain, particularly in Bogota, from questioning the patriotism of his critics.

He went on to say that those who revive old allegations "put at risk the greater interests of the country." He denounced those Colombians who come to Washington raising concerns about developments in their country, saying they "discredit Colombia." Chillingly, he added he was paying close attention to military intelligence on those opponents.

Very few here are familiar with Uribe's dark side. But they may want to pay closer attention because it may suggest more than just a character flaw. Gore's reaction was knee-jerk, particularly because the allegations were rehashed and previously discredited. Yet the fact remains that in their effort to undermine each other, both Uribe and his opponents have the potential to discredit Colombia -- or worse, to reverse important progress seen in recent years.

Marcela Sanchez's e-mail address is desdewash@washpost.com.