Alvaro Uribe is the President of Colombia, the most popular and respected leader in Southamerica with a popularity in his country reaching 78%, he is also the best allied of the United States in the region. His hard line position against leftist terrorist groups put him many times on a collision course and often getting the upper hand over communist president Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. During 2008 he reached the pinnacle of his presidency raising the pole to new heights and achieving great victories over the FARC terrorist group. One of them, the Operation Jaque (as in Chess game move "Check") where the Colombian Armed Forces performed the daring rescue of 15 FARC held hostages, most of them with 10 years in captivity. Among them, former Colombian senator Ingrid Betancourt, US hostages Thomas Howes, Keith Stansel, Marc Gonsalves and 11 Colombian military men. This operation is regarded as one of the most ambitious and daring in military history, achieved without firing one single shot. Uribe´s presidency is viewed as the last bastion of democracy in a region plagued by communist ideologies and leaders opposed to the US.

On January 13, 2009, George Bush presented Alvaro Uribe with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The medal is the United States' highest civil award. Bush also awarded the medal to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian prime minister John Howard.Huffington Post: Bush Chooses Uribe, Blair, Howard For Medal Of Freedom (January 5, 2009)

Colombian Army, Air Force and the National Police elite group called Junglas (Jungle commandos) attacked the FARC terrorist group 2 miles inside Ecuador border on March 1, 2008; this is known as the Operation Phoenix. The attack was based on intelligence gathered by Colombia military and ended with the death of FARC No. 1 in command Raul Reyes and 22 other rebels. The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, in support of that terrorist organization mobilized tanks and troops to the Colombian border, deceptively masking his response as a defensive posture for the "Colombian aggression on Ecuador". The incident lasted a week before Chavez was forced by Venezuelan citizens to diffuse the treat and return their bulling army to their bases. This was another victory for president Alvaro Uribe in an incredible year for Colombia and its Armed Forces.