By Revolter
[Sorry, most links in Spanish. Shockingly, the U.S. press hasn't picked up any of this.]
Zulema Jattin is the kinda-sexy close ally of President Uribe, and one of four Colombian congresspeeps, recently charged for their political, financial and murderin' relationships with the paramilitaries. She reacted to her arrest by accusing the Supreme Court of "kidnapping" her and being "poisoned by hate and personal resentments" against the "friends of the President." And then she conveniently, hilariously suffered from "heart palpitations" at her Court hearing, resulting in a postponement of her testimony.
A little background on our little drama queen - She won her dad's former seat representing the paramilitary-laden Cordoba Department in the lower house in 1998 (5 of Cordoba's 6 Senators are now under "parapolitica investigation"). He had lost it due to his involvement in the drug money election scandal that rocked the presidency of Ernesto Samper.
Weirdly, in 2002 she was actually kidnapped by the paramilitaries for 20 days. But she's more forgive-y than Jesus, apparently, as she subsequently ran for Senate in 2006 with the paramilitary boss, "Comandante Andres" as her running mate in the lower house.
Zulema is a member of the Partido de la U, the unofficial party of Uribe, whose leaders have reacted to her arrest by calling for a return of Congressional immunity. And if that isn't sketchy enough for you, some of the evidence against her is found in the iPod of renowned terrorist kingpin Salvatore Mancuso, currently on trial in the U.S.
This all bodes pretty badly for Uribe, which is the immediate reason why the Congressional vote on his reelection was suspended yesterday. But you wouldn't know that from reading this AP article, which only mentions the other four explosive death-scandals Alvaro is currently dealing with. Best. Ally. Ever.
Comments (9)
Yep...see my latest:
http://www.hollow-hill.com/sabina/2009/05/maracaibo_goes_to_hell_in_true.html
They're terrorizing Maracaibo particularly.
Posted by QueenBina
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May 17, 2009 1:25 PM
Posted on May 17, 2009 13:25
The paras have apparently spread into Vzla as well, causing plenty of trouble (the rise in kidnappings is partly attributed to the paras).
Posted by Utpal
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May 16, 2009 4:12 PM
Posted on May 16, 2009 16:12
Viviendo con chica loca ....
Posted by Bosque
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May 16, 2009 1:12 AM
Posted on May 16, 2009 01:12
Yeah, who knows about the kidnapping. She was already in Congress then, actually the President of it's Peace Commission. After that, she becomes the President of the Congress, but moves up to Senator in 2006. Don't know what the motives were to her kidnapping, but she's either got Stockholm Syndrome, or was always ready to collaborate with the paras if it suited her best.
Her dad was described as a "classic caudillo" and as I posted earlier, was one of the congresspeople responsible for killing Proceso 8000, the name of the investigation into the drug (paramilitary) money that funded the 1994 campaign of President Samper. So he gets voted out the next election, and then puts his daughter in the following one to "preserve his last name in the Congress." It's funny that these people feel entitled to political positions.
Here's another Spanish link that goes into the fucked up generational para-politica legacy of Cordoba specifically. This is why Uribe and his minions like to extradite the paras when they start talking. The vast majority have blood on their hands and/or got to positions of power with the help of drug money.
http://lasillavacia.com/historia/169
Posted by Revolter
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May 15, 2009 5:47 PM
Posted on May 15, 2009 17:47
i like pie
Posted by otto
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May 15, 2009 4:27 PM
Posted on May 15, 2009 16:27
Romulan? I thought I saw a Ferengi peeking out of there.
BTW, maybe she "forgave" the paras because she paid them to kidnap her, thus raising her profile and giving her a sympathetic aura she would not otherwise possess? Gotta admit it's a likely possibility...
Posted by QueenBina
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May 15, 2009 12:09 PM
Posted on May 15, 2009 12:09
oops, said that twice. Maybe it's the shark-like demeanor (no disrespect to sharks..)
Posted by ceti_alpha
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May 15, 2009 11:43 AM
Posted on May 15, 2009 11:43
She kind of looks like a Romulan.
Posted by ceti_alpha
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May 15, 2009 11:39 AM
Posted on May 15, 2009 11:39
She looks kind of like a violent Romulan type.
Posted by ceti_alpha
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May 15, 2009 11:38 AM
Posted on May 15, 2009 11:38