I'm John Dats, visiting with Professor Aben Ellis of the U.S. Army War College about

trouble in the Americas. Lawfare is the theme. The state apparatus being used against a politician for partisan gain.

We go to Colombia, and the headlines there are equally challenging. A former president

Alvara Uribe is now sentenced to house arrest for witness tempering. This is a report in the

Wall Street Journal in these last days. The Alvar Aribi, an ally revered for having battered Marxist rebels, gets a 12-year sentence

for witness tampering.

Professor, this surprised me because I believe we had noted that Aribeva Aribe was getting into politics again,

talking about becoming a vice presidential candidate or maybe his son would.

I don't remember exactly.

Anyway, it looked positive after the troubles that Gustavo Petro is having.

The allegations of mismanagement, of campaign finance irregularity,

of alcoholism, all these allegations, his, Petro's approval rating had been sinking even

lower than Lula de Silvas, and we had metrics of the narco cartel coming back in Colombia.

But now, Arribae is suddenly out of the game.

This appears to be too coincidental to be accidental.

What is the status of Arribae in the country?

Is he disregarded? Is he well liked? Does he have, well,

what is called here, he's revered by the U.S. That certainly is a plus.

Well, absolutely, John, depending on who you talk to, but certainly among the right and many

Colombians in the center and elsewhere, the record of Arribe as president was really one

of saving the country from what seemed to be a, you know, emit demise and, you know, take

over destabilization with the FARC. It's just worth remembering a beginning in 2002, just how much Arribe and the generals,

...