On 2 May, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez started a three-day visit to Washington, seeking support for Plan Colombia and the Free Trade Agreement's approval in U. S. Congress. But he wasn't really that welcomed. On the first day, Uribe came across dozens of demonstrators outside the American Center for Progress. He wanted to “discuss” issues with them… an attitude quite different than the one he holds towards the opposition in his own country. The same man, who said he’d be a “guerrilla man” and a “paramilitary” with a gun, not a mediocre one, all the same week, was called by the demonstrators an ‘assasin’, accusing him of being responsible for the deaths of around 400 union leaders in Colombia. Tefiloca, writing in a blog called Analisis de la interpretacion en RCN noticias [ES] devoted to criticize Colombian network RCN, (which some call the Fox News tropical equivalent), says: Lo “mejor de todo” es que la periodista si se puede llamar así, porque ultimamente solamente aparece como presentadora, Vicky Dávila hace el comentario de que aparentemente los exiliados colombianos tienen una mala informacion de nuestro país. Dando a entender que en Colombia vivimos en un paraiso y que aquí no sucede nada. The “best of all” is that the so-called journalist, because she’s lately appearing only as a presenter, Vicky Dávila makes this comment that apparently Colombian expatriates have bad information on our country, giving to understand that we in Colombia live in a paradise and that nothing happens. In contrast, a blogger signing as Editorial at Con Ojos de Estudiante [ES]stands favorable to the democratically elected president: El duro día del Presidente Uribe también incluyó una débil manifestación que ofrecieron unos cuantos mojigatos afuera del Centro Americano para Progreso. Como se acostumbra, nuestro honorable Presidente Uribe decidió enfrentarlos para ver si sus críticas tenían algo de fundamento pues alegaban la muerte de centenares de sindicalistas desde principio de la década de 1991. Al preguntársele, los infames manifestantes no tenían la menor idea de lo que estaban hablando. Parece ser que una vez más la oposición internacional habla sin fundamento. Es el deber del gobierno y del país entero, hacer saber cuál es la realidad que vive nuestro país ensangrentado por la violencia de una minoría. No es la primera vez que pasa, sucedió la semana pasada también en el fallido encuentro con el cuasipolítico-actor de Gore. Lo mismo sucede con cientos de ONG internacionales que dicen apoyar la causa ‘revolucionaria’ de las FARC y mostrar un retrato del Ché, pensando que están de acuerdo con su filosofía por que se vieron “Motorcycle Diaries”. President’s tough day also included a weak demonstration offered by some prudes outside the American Center for Progress. As usual, our honorable President decided to face them to see if their criticisms had any basis because they were alleging responsibility in the death of hundreds of unionists since the early 1990s. When he asked (them), the infamous demonstrators had no idea of what they were talking about. It seems that again the international opposition speaks with unfounded allegations. The government and the entire country must make known about the reality in which our country lives, bloodstained by the violence of a minority. It’s not the first time this happens, it occurred last week during the failed meeting with the quasi-politician-actor [Al] Gore. The same happens with hundreds of international ONGs who claim to support the FARC’s ‘revolutionary’ cause and show a portrait of Ché [Guevara], thinking they agree with his philosophy because they watched “Motorcycle Diaries”. On 3 May, Uribe met U. S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic Congresspeople, trying to discuss the FTA. Instead, Ms. Pelosi asked about prosecution for military allegedly involved with paramilitaries: It is essential that the Colombian government investigate and prosecute such officials, including those at high levels. Those within Colombia who are calling for full disclosure about paramilitary influence should be commended for their constructive efforts to build a stronger democracy. Journalist and blogger Felipe Zuleta writes [ES] that “in the United States the impertinent ‘arriero’ provides no results, he can go with that boastful manner of speaking to some other place” and asks his readers whether the paramilitary chiefs are going to be extradited (they haven't been extradited thanks to the Justice and Peace Law). Meanwhile, Colombia mainstream media seems to try to minimize the negative results of Uribe's visit by publishing a poll claiming that Uribe is even more popular than before (75%), and that opposition senator Gustavo Petro's negative image actually soared.