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The United States cannot and should not be responsible for all Latin America’s problems. However, no one wants to live in a neighborhood full of drug traffickers and terrorists. This is what’s happening in Latin America. For instance, a few days from now, a former guerilla—who was jailed for illegally carrying arms and advised to dictator Hugo Chavez (the man who led Venezuela to the socialist misery it lives today)—will be sworn in as the President of Colombia.
Affairs in Colombia are going so bad that on July 20, 2022, a man wanted by the U.S. State Department for his alleged role in drug trafficking gave a speech in the Colombian Congress as the face of the left-wing government that is soon taking over the country. His name is Luis Antonio Lozada, a.k.a. Carlos Lozada or “Screw” as known. He is responsible for recruiting children for the terrorist group FARC.
I came to the U.S. a few years ago after receiving threats for publishing an opinion column in which I talked about the accusations of child rape against Lozada, a former FARC guerrilla leader who is now a congressman. Lozada went from being the leader of the FARC Urban Commandos and wanted by the U.S. government (with an offer of 2.5 million dollars for information leading to his capture) to being chosen by the Colombian left as a leader who gives speeches in Congress. But he is not the only one, there is also Jorge Torres Victoria in the Colombian legislature, known by the alias of “Pablo Catatumbo.” Similarly, his face also appears on the State Department’s page with the 2.5 million dollar reward. FARC victims now see how the terrorists are “honorable congressmen”.
With Colombia’s new president and the congressmen who surround him —several with their faces on the State Department page— the United States loses its main ally and sets back years in its fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. Drug traffickers wanted by U.S. authorities now make the law in Colombia. What is happening in Colombia and in Latin America, in general, should be of special concern to the American government, it is impossible not to suffer consequences when the neighborhood is filled with criminals.
This article originally appeared in El American’s newsletter on July 21, 2022. Subscribe for free here!
Vanessa Vallejo. Co-editor-in-chief of El American. Economist. Podcaster. Political and economic analysis of America. Colombian exile in the United States // Vanessa Vallejo. Co-editora en jefe de El American. Economista. Podcaster. Análisis político y económico de América. Colombiana exiliada en EE. UU.