Colombian President Accepts Chavez's Proposal for Colombian-Venezuelan Railroad

July 8, 2008 (LPAC)—Following his victory over British manipulations with the successful July 2 FARC hostage release, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, in a true statesmanlike fashion, launched a bold peace initiative on July 5, accepting the proposal made by his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez for the building of a Colombian-Venezuelan railroad. The proposed railroad could be not only extended into Ecuador, he said, but also have a Caribbean/Central American line "that would be the beginning of our integration with Central America, with a vision of Mesoamerica, [linking us] to Mexico."

Maximiliano Londono, president of Colombia's Lyndon LaRouche Association, pointed out that the "Bolivarian train" and the "Darien train" that Uribe and Chavez are discussing follow exactly the routes that Lyndon LaRouche has proposed. These are "our trains," Londono said, "and show how Lyn's ideas are making history."

Uribe's plan is very much based on the Westphalian principle of the "benefit of the other." Were this integration plan to be properly conceptualized and implemented, it would be a huge step toward defeating narco-terrorism in the Americas, and lay to rest everything the British have tried to do to unleash regional war, by manipulating governments around the FARC issue.

Uribe was speaking at a Community Council meeting in the municipality of Aguadas, in the province of Caldas, during which he reported that he will be visiting Venezuela on July 11, and hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding committing both governments to building the regional railroad. "We will be traveling to Caracas with much enthusiasm," he said warmly, in order "to strengthen all ties with our brothers, the people of Venezuela. As President Chavez has said, we very much want to encourage our two nations' agenda."

The Colombian leader explained that one of the rail lines could go through his country's Eastern Plains, "and seek a connection with our sister nation of Ecuador, while the other can extend through the Caribbean region." Let Colombia and Venezuela be integrated "in both directions," he said. The line extending to the southwest, "should go first through the Venezuelan plains, then through the Colombian plains, with the idea of integrating us with our sister country of Ecuador. And with luck, thinking really big, it can continue on further south. This is the subject which makes us very enthusiastic about the July 11 meeting in Caracas," Uribe said.