 As he reflects on the past , the General often thinks and dreams about his former friend Francisco de Paula Santander . The historical Francisco de Paula Santander was a friend of Simón Bolívar , but was later accused of <unk> in a plot to assassinate him and sent into exile . In the novel , the General remembers that he had once appointed Santander to govern Colombia because he believed him to be an effective and brave soldier . He formerly regarded Santander as " his other self , and perhaps his better self " , but by the time of the events in The General in His Labyrinth Santander has become the General 's enemy and has been banished to Paris after his involvement in the assassination attempt . The General is depicted as tormented by the idea that Santander will return from his exile in France ; he dreams , for example , that Santander is eating the pages of a book , that he is covered in cockroaches , and that he is <unk> out his own <unk> . 
