Much has been made about Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ success at mending relations with his neighbors to the east and south. Rightly so. Given the difficult situation he inherited from his predecessor, this is no small feat.
But Santos’ newest diplomatic test may now come from the north.
On Jan. 3, Panamanian Foreign Minister Roberto Henriquez announced that Panamanian authorities will decide by the end of January whether the country will extradite Maria del Pilar Hurtado, the disgraced former head of Colombia’s now defunct Department of Administrative Security (DAS). Hurtado is wanted in Colombia for her role in the ‘Chuzadas’ (wire tap) scandal during the Uribe administration, in which, among other transgressions, the former Colombian president is accused of using DAS to spy on the communications of his adversaries.
Panamanian authorities granted asylum to Hurtado in November 2010. After more than a year of legal wrangling with international organizations and requests to turn Hurtado over to Colombian authorities, Colombia issued a formal request for Hurtado’s extradition in Dec. 2011 to stand trial for her role in the scandal, which shook the country’s confidence in the DAS and ultimately led to its downfall.
Colombia has been fighting for more than a year to return Hurtado to its post 1903-territory. Should Panama ultimately reject this latest request and allow Hurtado to continue living in asylum in Panama, diplomatic relations between the two countries could worsen. Should this happen, ties between the two countries will likely not reach the same low points as they did with Venezuela and Ecuador, when troops were sent to shore up borders and conflict rhetoric dominated headlines. The extent of any damage to bi-lateral ties hinges on Panama’s decision.


By now the Venezuelan has been in prison for roughly 15 years, mostly in solitary confinement, and is 62 years old. Unlike
that, after all of his revolutionary declarations, his daring raids and his professed struggle against Western imperialism, people can now, in true capitalist fashion, buy a t-shirt with his face for roughly 24-25 dollars.
New oil discovery reignites dispute over Falkland Islands, reins in U.S.
A recently-discovered offshore oil deposit that could contain more than 500 million barrels has reignited the dispute over the Falkland Islands’ sovereignty. Las Malvinas, as they are known in Argentina, lie 300 miles off the Argentine coast and were the scene of the Argentina-Britain Falklands War in early 1982.
With the approach of the 30th anniversary of the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentine troops comes an elevation in diplomatic tensions. Although British prime minister David Cameron recently called a national security meeting to discuss the Falklands, his government has no immediate plan to bolster military presence. With regard to sovereignty, Cameron underlines the islanders’ right to “self-determination” and has called Argentina’s attitude towards the Islands “colonial.”, an action that has set off repeat protests in Buenos Aires.
Florencio Randazzo, Argentina’s interior minister, immediately called this comment “absolutely offensive,” while president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called it an “expression of mediocrity and almost of stupidity.” Kirchner wants to open a dialogue between the two countries to negotiate over the Islands, a discourse that the White House now supports.
Though the White House recognizes the U.K. as the administrator of the islands, a January 19th press briefing responded to questions on the subject: “This is a bilateral issue that needs to be worked out directly between the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom. We encourage both parties to resolve their differences through dialogue in normal diplomatic channels.”
Kirchner has so far succeeded in persuading Mercosur members (Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) to close their ports to ships flying a Falkland Islands flag. “But if oil starts to flow, Argentina might seek regional support for an economic blockade,” according to a recent article in the Economist. There’s also a chance Argentina might close its airspace to Falklands-bound flights, according to an article in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. This could stress relations between Argentina and Chile, since the only carrier to make this flight is Chile’s LAN airlines.
Rockhopper Exploration, the British oil and gas company that made the discovery, is currently seeking co-investors to develop the newly discovered field dubbed ‘Sea Lion.’ First in line is Anadarko Petroleum—a U.S.-based energy company with holdings worldwide and a partner of BP’s in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company also has ties to the U.S. government; the former commander of United States Strategic Command is on its board of directors.
In April 1982, Argentine forces invaded the islands, ostensibly to divert attention from human rights abuses on the mainland. Less than three months later, British troops dispatched by then prime minister Margaret Thatcher forced Argentina to surrender.
The Falkland Islands have a population of around 2,500.
Photo courtesy of remi de nimega via Flickr.