Bit of a headache, narcopresidentes? Maybe you should start drinking coca tea, I hear it’s good for that.
The merry pranksters of the Internets have been very busy boys (and girls!) lately. It was only a matter of time before this happened…and yesterday, it did:
“Information pirates” attacked the social-media accounts of the current president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, and posted a link to a video alluding to Colombia’s independence day, in which they said that the Andean country had nothing to celebrate.
At 1:11 in the afternoon, Uribe’s account read “We are Anonymous”, and linked to a YouTube video against the independence celebrations in Colombia.
“We are not trying to devalue the actions of the liberators […] on the 20th of July, Colombia should not be celebrating, but demanding its rights on all fronts,” said the group in the video.
This attack, on ex-president Uribe, took place on Twitter; that against the current president, Santos, took place on his Facebook profile.
“We are Legion. We do not forget, we do not forgive. Expect us,” says a short video posted on the “wall” at Juan Manuel Santos’s official Facebook page, which was created during his presidential campaign, but which has not been updated since his arrival in the presidential palace, Casa de Nariño.
On his Twitter account, Santos wrote: “I lament the interference on the Facebook page which is in my name, and the messages that have been published there.”
For his part, ex-president Uribe wrote: “Please, Twitter, help me regain my account, which has been penetrated by criminals.” Later, he added: “Terrorists have penetrated my account.”
Finally, in a lamenting tone, he wrote: “What grave criminal damage to our account[s].”
A few months ago, Anonymous hacked the official website of the presidency of Colombia, as well as that of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice.
The video linked to the accounts of Santos and Uribe is approximately one minute and 30 seconds long, and in it, in a voice with a Spanish accent, the group harshly questions the validity of the independence-day festivities.
[…]
It now appears that the ex-president has regained control of his Twitter account.
Translation mine.
Here’s the video:
And here’s my full translation of what it says:
Hello, we are Anonymous. After 201 years of supposed independence, which we celebrate with such patriotic fervor, we have to ask ourselves: Are we really free from our oppressors? Or have they only changed their names and political parties? The answer can only be found by analyzing our current society. And we question it, because:
The [civil war] violence is not over, the unemployment rate has risen over the years, the markets continue to be dominated by the few, our natural resources are still being stolen, the chance of finding good work and a decent income is minimal, the banks hold a monopoly on the money, and many other truths which can be perceived by anyone.
Anonymous is not trying to devalue the actions of the liberators, but we do wonder why we are celebrating something which we have never completely obtained, and why we are not doing something, why we have not been able to change the archaic thinking which we still have.
On July 20, Colombia should not celebrate, but demand its rights and freedoms on all fronts, because we are the many.
We are Anonymous
We are Legion
We do not Forget
We do not Forgive
Expect us!
Viva Anonymous, and viva Colombia LIBRE — whenever that finally happens for real!