The rivalry between the former Colombian Alvaro Uribe and current President Manual Santos has spilled into the military. Emails between retired army officials showed discussions of removing Santos from Office. These emails hint at the idea of a coup.
Colombia‘s military expressed their support for President Juan Manuel Santos after it was revealed Friday that retired army officials mentioned his overthrow in a series of emails.
“Today we want to affirm our loyalty and devotion to our duty. We will continue along the path that our constitutional commander has outlined. We will observe the principle of national unity for airmen, sailors, soldiers and police officers,” said the commander of Colombia’s armed forces General Alejandro Navas.“These days there have been some disagreements which fortunately do not represent the feelings of the military community and the police.”
Email correspondence between retired army officials General Eduardo Santos Quiñones and Major Jorge Galvis Noyes surfaced Friday.
In the email, Galvis demanded that President Santos “meet his obligations and electoral commitments, or otherwise be removed from office,” following the May 15 terrorist attack in Bogota that targeted former minster Fernando Londoño.
Quiñones also addressed a letter to Santos, which circulated among his military colleagues, stating that Colombia needs “a real leader.”
These 2 retired army officials are dreaming. The Colombian military respects civilian control and will not even contemplate a coup.