MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petro wants Biden to pardon high-profile FARC leader

A former guerrilla himself, Petro said that releasing Trinidad would contribute to his country's peace

Colombian President Gustavo Petro would like his US colleague Joseph Biden to pardon convicted Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leader Juvenal Ovidio Ricardo Palmera, alias Simón Trinidad, who is serving a 60-year prison sentence for kidnapping in a federal facility in the State of Colorado.

Trinidad is a former banker who went to Harvard before joining the guerrilla group. He was captured in Ecuador in 2004 and extradited to the United States.

Petro sent a note to Biden on Nov. 12 “in a humanitarian spirit and with the purpose of contributing to Colombia's peace agenda,” the Colombian Embassy in Washington posted on X. It is customary for US Presidents to sign a series of pardons on their last day in office.

”This effort seeks to guarantee Mr. Palmera's participation in the processes of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), prioritizing his contribution to the truth in order to advance justice and peace in the country,“ it was explained. The Embassy also requested US authorities ”to facilitate the technical conditions“ for Trinidad to participate in ”virtual hearings required by the Colombian judicial authorities“.

A former guerrilla fighter himself, Petro's move caused quite an uproar in Bogotá, drawing criticism from a wide portion of the political spectrum, with messages such as ”we don't want criminals on the street.“

The FARC was dissolved in 2016 but some dissident groups continued to operate and have since grown stronger in weaponry and number of fighters.

Colombia's Attorney General Margarita Cabello warned that it was not necessary for Trinidad to be pardoned and insisted he could cooperate from prison. In her view, Trinidad's potential release is more a political than a legal issue, since in Colombia the crime of kidnapping is not amnestible.

”It is that Simon Trinidad was extradited to the United States and was convicted, he is already sentenced to 60 years in prison for some serious crimes including the crimes of kidnapping of three U.S. citizens. That implies taking into account one issue. First, the crime of kidnapping is not amnestible in Colombia. So, any solution that could be proposed in that regard would have to be more of a political than a legal issue,“ Cabello stressed.

”Secondly, I consider that the contributions that Simón Trinidad could or should give can be perfectly possible from the place where he is, and for that, it is not necessary a pardon or a condonation that they are asking from the United States,” she also noted.

The Colombian Government also announced Monday that it would resume peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas in January 2025. An ELN attack in September that killed two soldiers and wounded some 30 others prompted Petro to freeze negotiations at the time.