A few days ago, the Ex-Ministry of Defense and Former Ambassador of Colombia to the United States, Juan Carlos Pinzón, issued a statement where he expressed that he was doubtful about peace accords signed between the Colombian government and the FARC terrorist group, including doubts about their complete surrender of arms. He added that the agreements could have been better conducted.
President Santos, clearly upset with the comment, uncharacteristically responded in the media, replying that, “the struggle to power brings out the worse of human nature”.
As a result, Pinzón did not hesitate to fire back, publicly reprimanding Santos for trying to stifle opposing opinions in the presidential race.
“It isn’t good to disqualify anyone who expresses a divergent opinion on public interest topics”, he said. “The criticism towards to these agreements can’t be considered a threat to peace. Instead, they should be considered as recommendations in the best interest of Colombians”.
Pinzón also recommended that it is necessary to modify the agreements made with the FARC as needed, as new challenges and issues will likely arise. He also made his point clear, that he did not want to create conflict that could compromise the treaties, but rather help to create new consensuses, and that Colombia was his first priority.
