How they see us: Conceding to Colombia

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is a “diplomatic wizard,” said Rafael Nieto Loaiza in El Colombiano. He appears to have achieved everything he wanted at a meeting with President Obama last week, without giving up a thing in return. Santos is on track to win approval for a long-sought free-trade agreement with the U.S. Yet he steadfastly refused to hand over Walid Makled Garcia, a Venezuelan businessman accused of running a huge cocaine-trafficking scheme, to the United States. The U.S. was keen to have Makled extradited because he claims that top Venezuelan officials—including some of President Hugo Chávez’s cabinet ministers—took his bribes and helped him ship tons of drugs to the U.S. But Santos agreed to extradite him instead to Venezuela, where he is wanted on murder charges. And apparently Obama didn’t press the issue.

Colombia won doubly, said Mauricio Vargas in Colombia’s El Tiempo. In exchange for Makled, Venezuela has offered key concessions, including lucrative trade agreements and the easing of military tensions. “Simply achieving the free-trade agreement with the U.S. would, by itself, have been a great success.” But to do so while also winning important regional trade guarantees “is to win by a landslide.” Santos has shown “with great diplomatic skill” that he can manage “the delicate balance of being a friend both to Chávez and Uncle Sam.”

At this point, Colombia seems to be leaning toward Venezuela and away from the U.S., said Mark Weisbrot in the London Guardian. After all, that’s where the money is. When the U.S. tried to expand its military presence in Colombia a few years ago, Venezuela promptly cut off some $2.3 billion in imports from Colombia. Other South American countries also made their displeasure clear. “Santos was basically faced with a choice of continuing to do Washington’s bidding or being part of South America. He chose South America.” The Makled extradition is just another example of prioritizing Caracas over Washington.

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That’s bad news for Venezuela’s democratic opposition, said Luis Izquiel in Venezuela’s El Universal. Why couldn’t Obama insist that Makled be extradited to the U.S., where his story of Venezuelan government corruption could be aired? Venezuelan officials claim they will investigate Makled’s allegations, but we all know they won’t. The Chávez government has known “for months” the names of the officials Makled claims are corrupt, yet “not one has even been questioned.” Once Venezuela gets its hands on him, “the formerly outspoken and bold Makled will be magically silenced.”