“EL COLOMBIANO with its pluralism, EL COLOMBIANO with its positive way of finding solutions for the Nation and the region, EL COLOMBIANO with its yearly task of highlighting the best, of making them a point of reference for their fellow citizens, carries out an exemplary task”, said President Alvaro Uribe on the stage of the Metropolitan Theatre where sixteen new recipients were awarded the Colombiano Ejemplar.

Each year this publication sets out to find people and organizations who for their work and dedication in a variety of fields are worthy of being called ‘Exemplary Colombians’. Winners stand out in categories like solidarity, tourism, science and technology, sports, Colombians overseas, children, environment and economy.

One of them is President of Ecopetrol, Javier Gutierrez, recognized in the category of Business and Finance not just for his achievements in business but for his people skills as well, for the social justice within the organization and how he works shoulder to shoulder with each worker. “I believe the essence of a company is in its people, one must have a good selection process, learn to delegate and let people work”, he said.

“We have to highlight good Colombians, who do very good things for this country because they are a majority and in them is the future of Colombia”, said EL COLOMBIANO Director, Ana Mercedes Gómez.

Medellin’s clean air is now twice as clean. Two years ago the diesel coming in had 2.500 particles of sulfur per every million. Yesterday the President of Ecopetrol, Javier Gutierrez, said now the diesel that makes it into the city has 500 parts per million. That means a reduction in the contaminating components of the fuel which will contribute to a healthier environment in Medellín.

“We are in this way respecting the pact signed in 2008 with the Mayor and the City Council promising that we’d be at these levels by 2010”, Gutierrez said. But it won’t stop there, by July the number will be 50 per million.

“We are making an important effort in our refineries to keep up with our commitment, which is not only with Medellin but with the entire country”.

The void left by the US $55 million cut from the aid received as part of Plan Colombia will be made up somewhat by contributions from the U.S. Government in the military cooperation agreement subscribed to last year.

In a chat led by President Alvaro Uribe yesterday he said “this is where we start to see the benefits of the Cooperation Pact with the  U.S.”. He also said he considers Plan Colombia to be transitory and understands the cutback given the difficult financial crisis in the northern country.

Colombian President, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, announced the Government will intervene in the sale of prescription drugs outside the obligatory insurance plan (POS) to avoid abuse by the pharmaceutical industry.Uribe explained it’s not about control, “but we did introduce rules that allow Governments to intervene when there’s any kind of abuse in the price of a medication”, he said.

Uribe addressed manufacturers and distributors of prescription drugs several times this week urging them to  “make a big effort to rationalize the price of prescription drugs in the country”, he said. Vice-Minister of Health, Carlos Ignacio Cuervo, explained there will be a reference price established for all drugs not included in the POS.

Venezuelans, even some Chavistas, are in disbelief over the announcement that Cuban revolutionary hero, Ramiro Valdés, is who President Chavez is bringing in to find a solution to the country’s energy crisis. The news was met with concern as some see it as a threat to Venezuela and Latin America and fear Valdes will place himself at the head of Venezuela’s Cuban community and continue to promote the revolution.

Colombian President, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, called for the rationalization of prescription drug prices and said the high cost “harms our democratic life, harms what Colombian equality should be and makes it financially unsustainable”.

In the frame of a meeting of executives and directors of pharmaceutical laboratories, President Uribe said the country cannot move forward with such expensive products. “I am urging labs, distributors, EPS’, IPS’,to rationalize the cost of prescription drugs”.

Argentina’s presidential family, President Cristina Fernandez and her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, is going through what can arguably be considered their worst moment yet.

Not only has the couple been accused of illegal enrichment by opposing politicians, the resignation of personal secretary to the president, Fabian Gutierrez, himself under investigation for illegal enrichment, only fuels the fire.

The temporary suspension of the controversial Audiovisual Media Law is also a hard blow to the president and in some way suggests victory for the media.

During a tour of the supporting sites for the South American Games, Antioquia’s Governor Luis Alfredo Ramos cleared the way for the construction of a modern bicycling track in Rionegro, with all the technical specifications that will allow it to serve as a venue for important national and even world championships.

Indeportes engineers and architects from Indeportes will proceed to study the land and design the track so the project may be completed in as little time possible.

The department’s investment will be 10.000 million pesos, while Mayor of Rionegro, Alcides Tobon, said the municipality will contribute the land located in the village of Barro Blanco, three kilometers from the city centre; he said this will give the city ownership of one of the best modern sports complexes in the world.

The NGO Human Rights Watch released a report today in which it again criticizes the demobilization process by pointing out that newly formed illegal groups continue their criminal activity in 24 of 32 departments in Colombia. The report states that after the demobilization of the Self-Defense Forces in Colombia, seven illegal armed groups were formed, like the so-called Black Eagles which has more than 4.000 members.

HRW Director for Latin America, Jose Miguel Vivanco, explained that this resurgence was “predictable” because the “government failed to dismantle the criminal networks of the paramilitary coalition (…) almost all of its heads are former mid-level chiefs of the Auc who didn’t demobilize or committed fraud”, he said, adding that he considers the demobilization process was “ill conceived and implemented”.

In Bogotá during the presentation of the report ‘Heirs to the Paramilitaries. The New Face of Violence in Colombia’, Vivanco said these groups commit any number of atrocities and their main victims end up being civilians. “The succesor groups frequently commit massacres, executions, forced displacements, sexual assaults and extortion, and they generate a threatening environment in the communities under their influence”. Regardless of what they’re called, Vivanco said, “the impact they currently have on human rights in Colombia should not be minimized”.

The report was not well-received by the Colombian Government, who refers to these groups as “criminal gangs associated with drug-trafficking and a phenomenon different from paramilitarism”. Defense Minister Gabriel Silva was first to react: “HRW is oblivious to the efforts made by the Government and the Public Forces to strictly follow human rights policy and respect international humanitarian rights”.

Silva said the document fails to consider any type of statistical data from his Ministry and ignored the level of commitment displayed by Public Forces in their fight against these criminal groups. The conclusions reached in the report “have a political and ideological orientation that distorts reality and above all have the deliberate intent of affecting the reputation of the democratic security policy”.

A meeting between Vivanco and Minister Silva was cancelled after the release of this statement.

Magistrate of the Constitutional Court, Humberto Sierra Porto, presented his 400-page reserved report in reference to the referendum that would allow President Alvaro Uribe to run for an immediate second reelection before the high tribunal. Court President, Nilson Pinilla, said the ruling will likely be announced before April even though they have 60 business days to debate it.

After that the concern would be time; National Registrar, Carlos Ariel Sanchez, says at least 3 months are needed to see it through, which won’t be the case if a decision comes in April.  The hope for defenders of the proposal is that the Court changes the date elections are scheduled for: the last Sunday in May.