Colombia Passport

This week Facebook was news in Colombia: the 14^th Judge of Bogotá ordered the arrest of a student of prestigious university Jorge Tadeo Lozano. Nicolás Castro Prestelt created a group in the popular social network that he called ‘Me comprometo a matar a Jerónimo Alberto Uribe, hijo de Álvaro Uribe’ (I commit myself to kill Jerónimo Uribe, son of Álvaro Uribe). He promoted also another group with the title ‘No reelijas la rata que mata’ (Do not reelect the rat that kills).

In the photo, Jerónimo Uribe Jr. File of YVKE Mundial Radio, public domain.

Castro Prestelt is accused of incitement to commit crime and he can face prison between 6 and 15 years. Obviously to threat the life of the older son of the premier is not a matter of joke. The group was detected by the national security that contacted the American FBI and the network security of Facebook. Both groups were closed by the network and the IP was traced to locate the computer of Castro Prestelt, a young student in his early 20s.

He declared himself innocent before the prosecutor saying that he was not a terrorist and just a student. His group, created on July 6, got 20 members, three of them Farc guerrillas, according to Caracol Radio. The charges against Castro were brought to the judge by the 12^th prosecutor of the National Unity against Terrorism. In the group, the young student incited to assassinate the older son of President Álvaro Uribe and stated that after Uribe Junior the next would be the president himself.

The event has brought already the attention of other political figures of Colombia, like opposition senator Piedad Córdoba, a regular victim of similar kind of groups on social networks and other Internet spaces. She declared her intention last Thursday to take legal action against users who promote violence against her on the Internet. Last year her official website was attacked by hackers.

Colombia was the first Spanish country to popularize American Facebook, a social network that became a main space of communication, especially among young students, enterprisers, intellectuals and politicians of the northern South American nation. Demonstrations like One Million of Voices Against Farc, are promoted especially using Facebook.

The event is also an attention call to young generations in using Internet in a responsible way. You can assume a critical position against anybody in power, but incitement to crime would be always crime and not freedom of expression.

The sons of the president have been accused especially by some opposition leaders of illegal enrichment and abuse of power, but so far nothing has been stated to prove it.

The Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, the one of arrested Castro Prestelt, was founded in 1954 in Bogotá in order to promote new generations without sectarianism, fanaticism and hate, with an immeasurable value for human and natural resources, as Joaquin Molano Campuzano, its founder, stated.