DORAL, Fla. �� Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe met with hundreds of Colombian immigrants Sunday to explain why he led the opposition that led to voters' rejection of a peace agreement between the current Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla force.
Uribe said that if the deal prevailed without substantive changes, they could turn Colombia into another Venezuela, a reference to the government of leftist president Nicolas Maduro, perceived as a friend of Cuba and increasingly undemocratic. Maduro replaced President Hugo Chavez, who established an alliance with Havana, became friendly with FARC and set Venezuela on a path toward socialism. Chavez died in 2013.
"This is an agreement that opens up the possibility of Colombia opening the doors to 'Castro-chavismo' " Uribe told the South Florida Colombians group. "The accords would resolve the Venezuelan problem, but it would create a similar one in Colombia."
Although Uribe travels often to the Miami area, Sunday's visit was the first to South Florida since Colombian voters on Oct. 2 rejected in a referendum the peace agreement signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC. They were negotiated in four years of talks in Havana.
Uribe is considered as the big winner of the referendum because he was led the movement opposed to the deal.
Uribe sat at a table flanked by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Republican U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Curbelo.
Uribe asked them for their support to persuade Santos and FARC to renegotiate the agreement to obtain what he described as "substantial changes" and not just "cosmetic tweaks."
The lawmakers pledged their support and called Uribe a leader who stands up for democracy in Colombia and the threat of a possible leftist tyranny backed by Cuba and Venezuela.
