Alvaro Vargas Llosa of The Independent Institute on Colombia — From Invincibility To Panic:
The United States would do well to take heed of recent developments in Colombia that call into question its Andean strategy. A hugely popular President, Alvaro Uribe, Washington’s key ally in the war on drugs, has suffered massive defeat in a referendum that sought approval for fiscal and political reform, as well as in local elections. The turnout in the referendum failed to reach the legal threshold, so the wage and pension freezes put to the vote, as well as reform aimed at reducing the powers of the political parties, were thrown out. Furthermore, the new left-wing Democratic Pole won local elections in the three major cities — Bogot , Medell¡n and Cali — despite the official contention that they were soft on drug-financed Marxist terrorist organizations.
Read the rest here.