This is how they cook the toad

By: Francisco Santos - 04/08/2025

The formula is simple and has been tried and tested in every scenario: they put an innocent little frog into deliciously cold water, where it enjoys itself and swims happily; they slowly heat the water, and the frog thinks, "How delicious, the water isn't so cold anymore." It doesn't realize it until it's boiled and then served, transformed into delicious frog legs that the cook prepares.

This is what's happening to us in Colombia. The Sarmientos, the Ardilas, the Santoses, the Santodomingos, the Cortés, the Gilinskys, the Barberis, the Caicedos, the Daes, the Chars, and millions more upper-, middle-, and lower-class Colombians who believe in democracy and freedom are swimming peacefully—or, OK, a little uneasily—in that slowly boiling water, thinking, "In 2026, we'll cool it down again." They don't realize the situation we're living in and that what happened this week, the conviction of Alvaro Uribe, has turned the heat up almost to the point of no return.

I don't want to focus on the horrors of the trial or the acts of malfeasance committed by the judge; others will write about this. The mere fact that the judge had to write 75 pages a day—if the ruling is a thousand pages long, as she said—and only started writing it when the hearings ended, shows that behind this is an entire political machine that achieved its goal. I prefer we look at how we got here and where we're going. The perspective on this fact clearly shows the danger facing freedom and democracy in Colombia.

Let's start with the election of this Attorney General. Have you forgotten the coup that the same government instigated against the Supreme Court of Justice to force it to make a quick decision on who would replace Attorney General Barbosa? The Supreme Court had taken years to appoint an Attorney General—the case of Uribe as president and his shortlist being a prime example—to secure supposedly independent or better-qualified prosecutors to fill that position. Gustavo Petro understood the need to quickly secure the appointment of a pocket-sized Attorney General to begin the process that ended yesterday, Monday. The hordes that stormed the Palace of Justice did their job: the Court was intimidated and handed Petro its trophy.

Uribe's conviction sends several messages to Colombian society: first, if Uribe falls, anyone can fall, so behave well with the government because the prosecutor will file a case against you. Second, we have a prosecutor who operates according to the president's political needs, so now that we call on you to prolong this government, or appoint a successor, like Sheinbaum in Mexico, please help us, or you already know what could happen to you. Third, do you need us to create a legal mess for an enemy of yours? We'll do you the favor on one condition: from now on, you are an unconditional ally of the government and of Petro, without question. That's how justice works with Petro as your boss.

The judiciary has not been immune to this sin under other governments. President Santos co-opted the Constitutional Court, to the point that its president, Alejandro Linares, leaked decisions damaging to Álvaro Uribe to the media. What's more, this co-optation allowed him to change the Constitution, bypassing legal mechanisms, and allowed him to stage a coup d'état when Colombia rejected him in the plebiscite on the peace agreement. They were in the President's pocket, and they remained silent about the coup d'état or allowed illegal changes to the Constitution.

We can also talk about Santos's co-optation of the Supreme Court. He initiated and fostered this process, which culminated in Uribe's conviction, which he undoubtedly celebrates, as does his new best friend (don't forget that betrayal), Maduro, heir to Hugo Chávez.

But let's look at other sectors of the state where they're heating up. The electoral system is in their crosshairs. Do you think it's a coincidence that Petro is now questioning the electoral system? They've already begun to squeeze it financially. Just as they're withholding funds to pay for congressmen's tickets (undoubtedly another pressure mechanism), they're also restricting resources for the electoral sector. This is just beginning; rest assured, more threats and pressure against the electoral system are coming. Fortunately, there's a great man in the Registrar's Office, Hernán Penagos, but he alone can't stand up to a president and ministers who don't mind breaking the law to achieve their goals. How do we defend the electoral system, the main objective today?

The common zone with Venezuela in Catatumbo is no coincidence either. This decision legitimizes the power of drug traffickers, the ELN, and the FARC in this vital region of the country, where between $12 and $15 billion worth of cocaine is produced annually, which is refined, traded, and exported from Venezuela. Who benefits from this resource? The ELN, the drug traffickers, the FARC, and Maduro. The attack on Miguel Uribe, whose political leader is Petro, is also no coincidence. The Picota pact, with the release of gangsters from prison to the plaza where Petro gives speeches, is in full swing. Guess who wins and is left with allies with resources and weapons? Let's not turn a blind eye; Petro was elected with mafia money and seeks to stay in power with that help. Add more heat to the pot.

Do you want more evidence of how Petro is building his hold on power? Have you forgotten that he wanted to be a member of Congress and the Cortes, but, so far, hasn't succeeded? Sad to say, but we're still asleep as if the remainder of 2025 and the remainder of 2026, until the elections, were a normal time. I think it's going to be similar to, and much worse than, 1990, when candidates were assassinated. Then, Petro suspended the elections. There are no guarantees, will be the reason he gives for doing so, despite the fact that he himself, as president, not only made sure not to hold them, but, as happened with Miguel Uribe, was politically complicit, and the entity in charge of his security was complicit in their protection.

The water is boiling, will we wake up?

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