US nixes Columbian coup
even though Columbia refused to take deportees
A Columbian Conservative politician known for working both sides of the political aisle tried unsuccessfully to overthrow left-leaning President Gustavo Petro. Overthrowing governments in South America is not exactly a rarity in world history but what is rare is the United States not being involved, in this case, even when asked politely.
NACLA Update reports Alvaro Leyva, who served as foreign minister under Petro, “began to sour on the president after the Petro administration refused “to accept Columbian deportees on military planes” which led to a spat with the United States.
Here’s where it gets odd. Petro refuses Trump’s request on his pet issue immigration emasculation, yet Trump does not double down on him. Something doesn’t smell right. NACLA reported Conservative Leyva had “meetings with close allies of President Donald Trump.” He argued that Petro was a drug addict and had to be removed. The way he proposed to remove Petro was by creating “a broad coalition of social movements and armed groups, including the ELN guerrillas and the paramilitary Gulf Clan.”
Spanish newspaper El Pais said, “The Trump administration apparently never considered supporting the proposal.” I wonder if Rubio smelt a trap? The tapes leaked to El Pais with Leyva’s voice on them seem to be the only evidence of this coup attempt. Right wing opposition to Petro in Columbia were not part of Leyva’s conspiracy, which looks increasingly like a conspiracy of one. But shortly afterward US official of all and everything Marco Rubio withdrew his chargé d’affaires from Bogota which caused a tit for tat. GazetteXtra reports, “The United States and Columbia have recalled their respective ambassadors amid tensions surrounding an alleged plot to oust President Gustavo Petro in which two Florida congressmen were implicated.” Then they went on to name two congressmen and one congresswoman.
El Tiempo published a letter from 30 Columbian representatives requesting the US House Committee on Ethics investigate House Republicans Mario Diaz-Balart, Maria Elvira Salazar, and Carlos Antonio Gimenez for their conduct and “any unjustified interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country,” in this case, Columbia.
All three are of Cuban extraction with Gimenez having been born in Havana. They all represent regions in south Florida including Miami-Dade County where Mar-a-lago is found, not that that seems pertinent to the mystery at hand.
This has got me scratching my head. Here the Trump administration has an opportunity to overthrow a leftist government which came into power on a strong wave of popular support. There were stories of Indigenous people who usually never vote, traveling for a number of days to be able to do so. And it seems Petro himself is now riding high due to the passage of “his flagship labor and pension reforms.” So this will only make him greater in the public eye, and therefore, even a greater target for Team Trump.
This thwarted coup attempt came at a good time for Prez Petro. It seems he had been crying wolf for some time. Reports had come to him of other coup attempts which he then told the public but when they didn’t come off he was slowly losing credibility. Now his cred’s snapped back vigorously. But if anyone thought Leyva was in cahoots with Petro in order to boost the president’s public image, Petro “announced that he was formally charging Leyva with conspiracy and treason.”
What it whispers to me is there is no international authoritarian plot afoot to take over the world. If there was they would have jumped on this opportunity, if it was an opportunity. It might not have been. It might have been one loose cannon going off, and like any random cannon shot the unexpected gets hurt. In this case, El Pais reported Leyva alleged he had the support of Vice President Francia Marquez who “fiercely rejected” the accusation. The tense relationship between her and Prez Petro has only gotten worse.
Marco Rubio, also a Cuban-American, called Petro’s claims of a coup attempt “baseless and reprehensible”. At the same time cooler heads at the State Department “called Columbia an ‘essential strategic partner.’” Whether Rubio was on the tape or not, his name along with those three Republican Representatives is mentioned on it by Leyva. Therefore Petro’s accusations of a coup were not baseless. A coup was being considered and it seems by the word of Leyva, Rubio was aware of it. If this is true then Rubio was lying when he called the accusations by Petro ‘baseless.’ But that still doesn't answer the question of why the US didn’t join Leyva’s coup.
As it stands it's a diplomatic crisis between Columbia and the United States. As one expert said, "For decades, Columbia has been the most strategic US partner in the region, so it is troubling to see yet another diplomatic crisis.”
The Miami Herald reports, “The recall of ambassadors is the most severe escalation yet in the tense relationship between Trump and Petro that has been brewing for months.” Columbia being a member of the BRICS is also a thorn in Trump’s side. An opposition Columbian senator intimated that Petro’s alignment with “anti-democratic regimes and US rivals are creating growing hardships” between Columbia and the United States. She was referring to Columbia’s involvement with BRICS, the trade partnership originally begun by Brazil, Russia, India China and South Africa.
Another US expert said that these actions by Petro would isolate Columbia even further. But as we see by the Canadian example, goverments smarting from Trump’s tariff treachery are growing alliances with partners who can be trusted. The United States of Trump continues to prove to its former allies and enemies alike, it cannot be trusted. Canada is moving closer to the European Union and Columbia is moving closer to BRICS and affiliations with other like-minded Latin American countries.
By the way the next BRICS summit will be held on July 6 and 7 in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil took over the revolving chair of BRICS on January first of this year. The theme is "Strengthening Global South Cooperation for more inclusive and Sustainable Governance.” This meeting will be the first to include Iran, another brick in the wall of Trump’s economic isolationism.