Álvaro Uribe stormed to a landslide victory in Colombia’s presidential election Sunday. The Harvard- and Oxford-educated lawyer fiercely criticized negotiations with left-wing rebels. He has pledged a dramatic increase in military spending to more than $4 billion and to double the number of police and professional soldiers to take on the rebels. Critics say Uribe is a warmonger, and the Liberal Party candidate accused him of links with right-wing paramilitaries. U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson rushed to the new president’s campaign headquarters at a Bogotá hotel to congratulate him even before he declared victory. She said, “Colombia and the U.S. have many big issues to deal with — drug trafficking, human rights and the fight against terrorism. We’re ready to work with the next government.” Meanwhile, Colombian authorities have granted asylum to Venezuelan coup leader Pedro Carmona. Carmona grabbed power briefly from democratically elected President Hugo Chávez last month.