If the FTA helps build democracy in Colombia, so much the better, he said. “[IRI’s] mission is to promote democracy. If part of that is promoting the FTA, so be it,” he said.
Cordoba and some human-rights activists expressed wariness over IRI’s activities in part because of the group’s history in other countries.
“It’s of concern that one of the most important legislative bodies is being funded by the IRI, which has been notorious in Latin America for all kinds of things,” said Nicole Lee, executive director of TransAfrica, a human-rights group.
She noted the controversy surrounding the group’s actions in Haiti in 2003, when the U.S. ambassador to that country charged the IRI with undermining the stated position of the U.S. government in that country and helping to topple then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
“I think the caucus is an important mechanism; however, I think the IRI has a track record of not dealing fairly in Latin America,” said Lee, who questions whether Afro-Colombian legislators in the caucus really support the trade deal.
“It’s an uninformed point of view,” Sutton said in response. “And other than that, I think a response would only add credibility to the remark.”
In the U.S., black lawmakers have long supported Afro-Colombian causes, but the trade deal has sometimes divided them.
Meeks and Clarke, two CBC members who have been involved with the IRI’s work, are not co-sponsors of a resolution backed by Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) that calls for local Afro-Colombian governing councils to have a greater say over the trade deal. Most CBC members have signed on to the resolution.
Clarke was initially a co-sponsor, but withdrew her support a month later because she was worried the resolution could lead to tensions between the U.S. and Colombian governments, and that this would not advance the interests of Afro-Colombians.
“I hadn’t [had] a chance to fully review if that was in the best interests of Afro-Colombians,” Clarke said of the resolution. “I was concerned about any backlash with that level of focus … We are speaking to the government and admonishing them.”
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