President Obama: Four Steps for Peace in Colombia

The Obama Administration can take four important steps for peace in Colombia by ending extraditions of Colombian prisoners that impede negotiations, truth-telling and reconciliation efforts, and by allowing the participation in negotiations of Ricardo Palmera, who is being held under inhumane conditions at the Florence, Colorado Supermax Federal Penitentiary.

Subject:

Your Letter:

I stand in solidarity with the Colombian people as a United States resident who is hopeful for the prospect of peace talks to end almost five decades of civil war in Colombia. I call on the US government to welcome and not block this process. Specifically, I call on the Obama Administration to:

1. Release Ricardo Palmera aka Simón Trinidad from the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado so that he can fulfill his role as one of the FARC's three primary negotiators in peace talks. Professor Palmera was a negotiator in past peace talks for the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

2. End the extradition of FARC insurgents to the US, a practice that directly interferes with the peace process and Colombian sovereignty.

3. End the extradition of all Colombians, including members of paramilitary organizations, a practice used by the U.S. government to “white wash” leaders of death squads, interfering with ongoing investigations into connections between pro-government death squads and Colombian politicians.

4. End the inhumane practice of solitary confinement for Ricardo Palmera, held in isolation for eight years, and the more than 81,000 inmates held under similar conditions in US prisons.