* Above: Lucia Morett, just another UNAM student.
First we thought the war would be between Colombia and Ecuador, after Colombian forces breached Ecuadoran territory to assassinate FARC No. 2 Raul Reyes in early March. But it turns out the "war," a war of words at least, is now between Colombia and the UNAM, the oldest and largest institution of higher learning in the Western Hemisphere, located right here in southern Mexico City.
Last week at a diplomatic meeting in Cancun conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe described the four UNAM students who died in the Reyes siege as "terrorists, delinquents, and narcotraffickers." Hardly comforting words for the grieving families of the slain students, who were reportedly on a visit of the FARC base during Colombia's strike. UNAM responded with denunciations of Uribe's words and protests on campus.
The fight escalated this week when the Colombian ambassador to Mexico, Luis Camilo Osorio, wrote a letter to the UNAM rector, Jose Narro, suggesting that instead of criticizing Uribe he should criticize the slain students. Seriously. La Jornada writes:
It should be recalled that Osorio has been investigated by a committee of the House of Representatives of his country for links with paramilitary groups that have caused thousands of deaths and disappearances in Colombian territory. A few months ago the Mexican legistalor Rosario Ibarra introduced a point of agreement in the Senate to reject the diplomat for that reason.
OK, so clearly Osorio is an unhinged reactionary. But still. Where's the Mexican government in all of this? Mexican president and fellow conservative Felipe Calderon initially protested, feebly, Uribe's remarks. Not enough for the families of the Mexican victims, who say the PAN government has hardly been on their side.
And whatever happened to Lucia Morett, the mysterious UNAM student who survived the attack? On Tuesday she was pictured in La Jornada, raising a fist alongside President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, at a Sandinista event in Managua.