During the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, a debate was held on the situation in Colombia following a wave of recent terrorist attacks. ECR MEPs Adam Bielan and Arkadiusz Mularczyk spoke during the discussion.
Adam Bielan noted that Colombia has come a long way since the days when the country was terrorized by drug cartels for decades. He expressed his opposition to terrorism, which has returned to Colombia on a large scale and is causing Colombians to fear a return to those dark times.
“The recent terrorist attacks on civilians and the assassination of Senator Turbay are not merely isolated tragedies, but attacks on democracy,” he pointed out. The MEP explained that these incidents demonstrate the complete failure of President Petro’s strategy—the so-called “total peace” policy—which has merely created space for armed groups and cartels to expand their power and spread violence. “I call on the European Union to support Colombia in its fight against the influence of terrorism and the Cartel de los Soles,” Bielan urged. He argued that the EU should firmly stand with the Colombian people by imposing stricter sanctions on smuggling networks and defending Colombia’s democratic institutions. “Colombia’s future lies in peace, not terrorism or cartels,” the Polish politician stated.
Arkadiusz Mularczyk said that Colombia, terrorized by international cartels, finds itself in a dire situation today. “A symbolic event in this context is the assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe, who intended to run for president,” he noted. He noted that his death perfectly illustrates the extent of criminal organizations’ influence in Latin American countries. The PiS MEP reported that the cartels’ activities are not limited to the Western Hemisphere and are increasingly having a negative impact on Europe’s security. He explained that cartels such as the Cartel de los Soles are currently cooperating with countries hostile to the transatlantic community, including China, Russia, and Iran. “Money obtained from the cartels’ criminal activities is funding the budgets of our geopolitical adversaries, and their activities are increasingly threatening the security of our citizens,” the MEP warned. He also noted that just a few days ago, Polish authorities arrested two members of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel. He reported that, according to widely accepted estimates, the global scale of criminal activity amounts to between 1.6 trillion and 2.2 trillion dollars annually. He noted, by way of comparison, that this amounts to approximately 5 percent of annual global GDP. “To address this geopolitical challenge, Europe must cooperate closely with the United States. Designating the Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization will also be a crucial step,” the Polish politician argued.
