News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. May 17, 2023: Colombiaās first leftist president Gustavo Petro sounded the alarms about a brewing coup plot against him. HeĀ toldĀ participants during an event in Sucre at which land was turned over to dispossessed peasants, āFor the first time there is a president that, instead of trying to take the land away from peasants to keep it or give it to his friends, he is trying to give the land back. And now some former colonel says that this deserves a coup dāĆ©tatā¦ these coups are resisted and overcome through the mobilization of citizens.ā
Petro was referring to statements made on May 11 by retired Army Colonel John Marulanda during a debate on La W radio. Marulanda said that the mobilization of retired members of the military is a sign that Colombia is āfollowing the steps of Peruā wherein āthe reserve forces were successfully able to defenestrate a corrupt president.ā He added, āHere we will do our best to defenestrate someone who was a guerrilla fighter.ā
On Wednesday, May 10, around 3,000 retired members of the Armed Forces mobilized in the Plaza BolĆvar against Petroās government. The retired members particularly take issue with Petroās plan for āTotal Peace,ā in which the government has engaged in peace talks and negotiations with numerous armed groups and established several bilateral ceasefires. Retired army personnel also criticized progressive reforms promoted by Petro and members of the Historic Pact, such as the health care reform and labor reform. Many in the mobilization demanded āOut Petro!ā and particularly opposed him for being a former member of a guerrilla group. In this context, Marulandaās words have sparked concerns of a coup plot against Petro.
SOURCE: from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service