Did he or didn't he: politics imitate bad science fiction

Colombia president Uribe met with US Senators Arlen Spector and Jeff Sessions in April. On the table for discussion: immigration controls. Spector reported back to the Congress that Uribe suggested his own measure for ensuring that Colombians do not overstay their visas: microchips inserted under the skin.

Articles in the NY Times and El Tiempo. Following a backlash in Colombia, Uribe agreed to a rare interview last night on CityTV to deny the report. So did he or didn't he?

My version of "he said, he said..."

Spector:

'President Uribe said he would consider having Colombian workers have microchips implanted into their bodies before they are permitted to enter the United States to work on a seasonal basis,'' said Specter in a speech entered to the Congressional record April 25. ''I doubted whether the implantation of microchips would be effective since the immigrant worker might be able to remove them.'

Uribe:

I told them (the US): if the US with all its developed technology, with computers, with chips, does not have the mechanisms to know whether a person who entered for seasonal work stayed in the country or returned to Colombia, then where are we? When asked if this meant he agreed with the microchips proposal, he said, "I have nothing left to add."

Hmm, that's one heck of a misunderstanding. Uribe went on to say he merely exhorted Spector and Sessions to come up with a more humane way of treating immigrants. [On a side note, Uribe's accent drives me nuts. He sounds exactly like the students at los Andes.]