After an exhaustive search to check for any other devices, around 30 police
officers remained at the entrance, stopping anyone from entering the
building.
The damage to Argentina’s reputation “would have been very large”
had the bomb detonated, he said after inspecting the room.
Federal police spokesman Nestor Rodriguez meanwhile downplayed the potential
strength of the device which he said was designed “to create a stir”
more than anything else.
The WOM Leadership symposium 2012 – a day of speeches and workshops for
leaders and entrepreneurs – costs $220 per ticket.
Mr Uribe, 59, will deliver his speech, titled “The Transformation of
Colombia,” as scheduled.
Leftist groups have called on supporters to hold a protest rally against Mr
Uribe’s speech.
In Bogota, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said the device
apparently had not posed a massive threat, calling it “not very serious.”
However, he added “we reject any terrorist act, no matter how minor it
may be. President Uribe has our full support, there is no reason for this.”
During his presidency, Mr Uribe secured a controversial peace deal with
Colombian right-wing paramilitary forces that led to the demobilisation of
30,000 fighters, and launched peace talks with the leftist National
Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas.
However the country’s largest leftist rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, rejected negotiations with Uribe and derided him as a
warmonger.
Several foreign leftists have spent time with the FARC over the years,
including Argentine national Facundo Morares – code-named Camilo – the
Colombian military said last year.
Uribe’s hardline policies against Colombia’s leftist guerrillas resulted in a
wave of complaints of human rights abuses against the armed forces.
While Uribe left office with high approval ratings, details about domestic
spying on journalists, judges and opposition politicians, as well as
corruption among supporters, have emerged in recent years.
A string of former top officials from his administration have been put on
trial, including Bernardo Moreno, his former chief of staff, and
ex-agriculture minister Andres Felipe Arias, a friend of the ex-president.
Source: AFP
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