“I’m used to their false accusations”: Juan Manuel Santos responds to Álvaro Uribe’s complaint

The fight between former Colombian presidents Juan Manuel Santos and Álvaro Uribe was reignited on December 19, when the former He assured that his counterpart has been falsely accusing him of different situations for more than ten years. The assertion was written in an open letter that the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize winner published on his social networks to respond to his counterpart, who four days ago He criminally denounced him before the Attorney General’s Office.

Santos assures that Uribe’s constant accusations are a strategy to attract the attention and win followers of the citizens thanks to the controversy. In the letter, which extends for a page and a half, the politician mentions several accusations made by the former president of Antioquia, including the new lawsuit in the Prosecutor’s Office, which branded as “smoke screen”.

“I was not surprised by his latest criminal complaint. I am used to their false accusations and baseless attacks. There have been too many in more than ten years. (…) The list of infundios is endless. The latest and most recent: that I call the magistrates of the Constitutional Court to deny the action that you filed. They just bought reality, as it has already begun to be known. This accusation, like all the previous ones, will remain as what it is: another smokescreen to produce media and political effects, ”Santos asserted.

It should be remembered that the complaint filed says that Santos would have pressured magistrates of the Constitutional Court to vote against Uribe and thus maintain his status as a criminal defendant in the case against him for alleged manipulation of witnesses. The attorneys for the former Antioquia president stated that the Nobel laureate would have called Judge Alejandro Linares, before the vote, to go against Uribe.

Santos maintains that this is false, because although he is interested in the issues of the country, he is not thinking of hunting down political fights in the form of retaliation. In fact, the Nobel took advantage of the letter to assume that The country is tired of seeing former presidents fight and that it is even tired of doing so.

As it was, he said that should “Stop giving so much trouble“ and stand aside so that new leaderships can emerge in the country. Santos listed the problems that Colombia has in economic, security, credibility and environmental issues, and said that if the former presidents are going to refer to these issues it should be to contribute to the construction of the country, not to rekindle political fights.

“Former President Uribe: the entire country is fed up and outraged by the fights between former presidents, and in particular Uribe vs. Saints. We would do a great service to Colombia if instead of giving so much trouble – for example in these elections, as I am already trying to do -, we allow new leaders to emerge to face the immense challenges facing the country (…) solve these problems where people want to go. Not ex-presidents fighting like cats and dogs. The challenge is immense, but – I repeat – it is no longer ours, ”said Santos.

Finally, in the document Santos reaffirms his desire not to continue fighting with Uribe. He proposes a kind of truce, as happened in the United States between former presidents John Adams (1797 – 1801) and Thomas Jefferson (1801 – 1809), who were political rivals but joined forces to defend the interests of the North American country.

“I invite you to follow the example of the presidents who succeeded Washington: Adams and Jefferson. They both ruled one after the other, just like you and me. They were allies and then bitter rivals, like you and me. But before dying they had the intelligence to reconcile, to leave without hatred and in peace. Not in “the peace of Santos”, which you do not like, but in the peace of spirit, which all human beings must seek, “Santos concluded.

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