Tag Archives: Menges Hemispheric Security Project

The State Department and Chavez

The Undersecretary of State for Interamerican Affairs, Dr. Thomas Shannon, once again expressed a positive attitude towards President Hugo Chavez by talking about the possibility of strengthening relations between Venezuela and the US. Shannon optimistically offered Chavez cooperation between the two countries on drug-traffic control.

This generous offer came after John Walters, Director of The National Drug Control Policy Office, pointed out that Chavez was becoming a major facilitator of cocaine trafficking to Europe and other parts of the hemisphere. To add to this, former US Ambassador to Colombia, Myles Frechette reported that the US government has clear evidence, based on information provided by radar technology that airplanes loaded with heroine depart from Venezuela to the United States and other parts of the world.  Frechette added that this is a fact and there is no basis to dispute it. Moreover, Frechette added that the US Administration has known about this activity for years.

Interestingly enough, this information came out days after the liberation of the hostages by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) which confirmed the complicity between Hugo Chavez and the FARC. This complicity was made clearer when Chavez appealed to the international community to remove the FARC from the international list of terrorist organizations. It is also a well-known fact that the FARC is linked to drug-trafficking cartels. In addition, Shannon’s statements came days after Chavez denounced Uribe as being a mafia gangster and after accusing Bogotá and Washington of trying to launch a war between Colombia and Venezuela.

As Chavez’s hostility continued, Shannon made a second conciliatory statement by ruling out the possibility that a war between Colombia and Venezuela could ever happen. Moreover, Shannon expressed his desire to get closer to Hugo Chavez and pointed out that the "relationship between Colombia and Venezuela is so deep that they will find a way to offset their differences". This was a curious remark given Chavez’s open hostility to "Plan Colombia" (aimed at combating drug-trafficking) and to President Alvaro Uribe whom Chavez sees as a puppet of the American empire. These statements also came just one day before Secretary Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Colombia to garner support for the yet to be ratified free trade agreement between the US and Colombia. One has to wonder what has prompted Mr. Shannon in his now conciliatory stance towards the Venezuelan president.

The undersecretary first offered Chavez cooperation on matters related to drug trafficking when Chavez himself has provided more than enough evidence of his involvement in drug trafficking. Indeed, Chavez has facilitated the trans-shipment of drugs through Venezuelan territory and airports as well as openly supporting commercialization of coca (as in Bolivia where President Evo Morales is a close Chavez ally).

However, this is not the end of Shannon’s poor judgment. He speaks loudly of cooperating with Hugo Chavez and has expressed confidence in the possibility of accommodation with him at the same time when Chavez is suffering political serious setbacks at home.

Chavez’s agenda was defeated in a December 2nd referendum that would have approved a constitutional reform that –among other things-would have virtually given Chavez unlimited powers. The meaning of that defeat is manifold. On the one hand, these elections delivered a leader long awaited by millions of Venezuelans in a political situation where the opposition had been weak and highly ineffective. That leader was General Raul Baduel, a former Secretary of Defense and former Chief of staff of the Venezuelan Armed Forces who not only denounced Chavez’ authoritarian project but also encouraged an intimidated Venezuelan population to vote against Chavez. That defeat generated a momentum that the state department bureaucracy failed to understand. Also, last week political parties and groups from the opposition announced a proposal that would unite all of them in a common front to defeat Chavez in the October 2008 regional and municipal elections.   The object of that unity is to create a democratic alternative to Chavez’s authoritarian rule. The groups and parties that are part of this front include old and new parties, liberal, centrists and socialists. They are all united with the purpose of striking a second electoral blow to Hugo Chavez.

General Baduel has issued a number of statements publicly contradicting Hugo Chavez in a heroic attitude of defiance. First, he stated publicly that the armed forces of Venezuela were confused over the apparent support of Chavez to the FARC and the use of Venezuelan territory by the group. Baduel stated- after meeting with top army officers- that the army understands that the FARC is a guerilla group and as such should not be allowed to operate on Venezuelan territory. Baduel also criticized Chavez’s direct contact with the FARC during the hostage crisis, because the Venezuelan President tried to act on his own by bypassing the authority of the Colombian president. In addition, Late last week Baduel publicly called on the Colombian government to ignore Chavez’s statements, according to which the US and Colombia are trying to cause a war between Venezuela and Colombia. Moreover, Baduel courageously accused Chavez of trying to draw public political support by staging a hypothetical external threat and thus "appealing to a despaired nationalism at a time when the people are beginning to sense an internal crisis".  This was a brave act of public criticism by Baduel which should have elicited another kind of reaction. Instead, Shannon and the State Department bureaucracy totally failed to understand the momentum that the December 2nd referendum generated and thus appeared to be among Chavez’s few friends.

But Chavez has already rejected Shannon’s offers to hold a dialogue, which comes as a slap in the face to the State Department. It seems that the US foreign policy establishment has failed to understand that the Chavez’ regime is oppressing its citizens, its media, its private sector, its constitutional guarantees and its legal system. What is worse the SD has not captured Chavez’s essence as a stubborn ideologist, the opposite of a pragmatist seeking accommodation with the United States. Instead of helping to strengthen the opposition by supporting those who are fighting Chavez’s authoritarianism, the Department of State has betrayed Chavez’s opponents by acting in a most clumsy way.

Indeed, an astonished Colombian journalist questioned Shannon about why is he opening up to Chavez after Chavez asked for international recognition of the FARC. Shannon replied that "there is no evidence that the Venezuelan government has any intentional policy to promote drug and arms –trafficking through the Colombian-Venezuelan border". In fact he said that it is more likely that this was the result of (private) "smuggling". Shannon may have forgotten that the Bolivarian Circles- which are groups created by and loyal to Hugo Chavez- are believed to be involved in activities that allegedly include drug-trafficking as well as blackmailing and kidnapping. Maybe this is the non-governmental activity that Shannon refers to. If this is the case Chavez managed to create an illusion of distinction between him and his loyal followers.

In last week’s Americas Report, John Thomson, who lives in Colombia and has researched this issue carefully, stated that Venezuelan authorities have enabled some 300 hundred tons annually of Colombian cocaine to be shipped for re-export through Venezuela to Europe and the US. This is a highly profitable business for both Chavez and the FARC. The question is why the top person responsible for our Latin American policy at the State Department has managed to misinterpret the facts and by so doing has undermined the Venezuelan opposition and further reduced US credibility in the region.

The State Department and Chavez

The Undersecretary of State for Interamerican Affairs, Dr. Thomas Shannon, curiously expressed a positive attitude towards President Hugo Chavez by talking about the possibility of strengthening relations between Venezuela and the US. Shannon optimistically offered Chavez cooperation between the two countries on drug-traffic control even after John Walters, Director of The National Drug Control Policy Office, pointed out that Chavez was becoming a major facilitator of cocaine trafficking to Europe and other parts of the hemisphere. Shannon’s offer came days after the liberation of the hostages by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) which confirmed the complicity between Hugo Chavez and the FARC. Why the top person responsible for our Latin American policy at the State Department has misinterpreted the facts undermining the Venezuelan opposition and further reducing US credibility in the region.

Main News:

  • Washington rejects Chavez’s accusations of military assault against Venezuela.
  • Bush Calls for Passage of Colombia, Panama Free Trade Agreements.
  • Colombia : President Alvaro Uribe with 80% popularity. Condoleezza Rice to visit Uribe. Uribe calls for investigation into alleged Venezuelan Mayor-FARC links. France asks Colombia for caution regarding siege on the FARC. Massive March In Opposition to the FARC Planned.
  • Venezuela : Baduel rejects belligerent status for FARC. Venezuelan Pleads Guilty in Cover-Up of Suitcase of Cash. Venezuela prevents smuggling of 5,000 tons of food. Pdvsa, govn’t face debt maturities at USD 8 billion. Chávez to visit Russia and Belarus in February or March.
  • Peru rejects Chávez’s and Ortega’s criticisms. Canada and Peru seal free trade deal.
  • Argentina expects Chávez’s financial aid. Venezuelan diplomat accused of illegal car trading in Argentina.
  • Chávez’s proposed ALBA Army rejected in Nicaragua. Venezuelan aid to Nicaragua at USD 385 million.
  • Bolivia investigates missing funds from ALBA.
  • Mexico : Calderón Meets with Top-Level Mexico-France Group.

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For any questions, comments, or those interested in receiving this report in the future or seeking to have their email removed from our list please contact Nicole M. Ferrand at our new e-mail address: themengesproject@centerforsecuritypolicy.org. If you have news stories that you think might be useful for future editions of this report please send them, with a link to the original website, to the same e-mail address. If you wish to contribute with an article, please send it to the same address, with your name and place of work or study.

Chavez to Colombia: the FARC be with you

Uribe is succesfully battling the Chavez-backed FARC. (AP Photo)

In the ongoing saga between Venezuelan despot President Hugo Chavez and Colombian democratic President Alvaro Uribe, Chavez for the moment appears to have the upper hand.   He basks in the glow of – finally – securing the release of two female hostages from the narco-trafficking and kidnapping terrorist FARC [the Spanish abbreviation of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] organization.  However, analysts in Caracas and Bogotá, the countries’ capitals, are betting Chavez has overplayed his hand and that Uribe will prevail not only against his Venezuelan nemesis but also in his war of attrition against Colombia’s guerrilla gangs.

Uribe ended 2007 with the powerful revelation that one reason FARC’s once bruited, oft delayed Christmas release of three hostages had not taken place was that Emmanuel – born in captivity – was in fact already in a Bogotá foster home.  Undoubtedly under great pressure from an embarrassed Chavez, the release of the two ladies, both prominent politicians and one Emmanuel’s mother, ultimately took place the week before last.

The cracks in the Chavez–FARC peace façade are already appearing: less than 72 hours following the two ladies’ release, FARC gunmen kidnapped six others from a beach on Colombia’s Pacific coast. At the same time, Chavez’s plea for FARC and ELN, the two leading guerrilla groups, to no longer be called "terrorists" but belligerent combatants was rejected out of hand, not just in Bogotá and Washington but also by the European Union, indicating how low the once romanticized revolutionary "freedom fighters" have fallen.

Leftist Colombian political figures are separating themselves from Chavez’s attempt to legitimize the FARC.  Carlos Gaviria, head of the far left Polo Democratico party, as well as Senator Gustavo Petro, a Polo Democratico leader and close friend of Chavez, have both deplored the Venezuelan’s call to end the guerrillas’ terrorist designation.

All sides are holding Afro-Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba accountable for her ardent support of Chavez and, implicitly, the FARC.  A prime factor: several weeks ago, more than five million citizens marched in the streets of the country’s main cities, demanding that the kidnapping stop and those held be released.

The Chavez-FARC alliance is not new.  The FARC has enjoyed safe haven basing rights in the western jungles bordering Colombia for its troops and safe houses in Caracas for its leaders for many years. More recently, Venezuelan authorities have enabled some 300 tons annually of Colombian cocaine through the country for re-export to Europe and the U.S. – a highly profitable arrangement for both FARC and Chavez.

As important, there are strong indications that significant amounts of Russian arms purchased by Venezuela are being transshipped to FARC camps for use in their "liberation movement".

Colombia ‘s Alvaro Uribe seeks to implement a multi-faceted effort to free more hostages and to strengthen his country’s anti-guerrilla position:

  • Surprisingly, Uribe has acquiesced in Hugo Chavez serving as a clearly biased "mediator" in hostage relief efforts.  With more than 700 hostages, results to date are miniscule, but every release or escape is widely welcomed by the Colombian people, whatever the reason.
  • A strong government effort to win over guerrillas has been spectacularly successful, especially with the ELN, the second most powerful terror organization.  Inducements to lay down their arms include cash as well as technical training programs sponsored by America’s Plan Colombia.
  • Simultaneously, Colombian military efforts to eliminate guerrilla leaders and encampments are steadily progressing.
  • Critical to the Colombian strategy is approval by the U.S. Congress of the pending free trade agreement.  To date, Democrats and their labor union allies have offered multiple excuses for holding the agreement hostage [big labor has committed to spending $200 million in support of Democrats during the 2008 election cycle].  In an effort to offset the pull of American labor bosses, Colombia has shown several Congressional delegations the results of the Uribe administration’s ongoing efforts to curb violence, quell the narcotics trade and curtail what have always been minimal human rights abuses.

Unfortunately, the latest group of Washington travelers ended their visit with a carefully balanced pair of utterances. Representative James McGovern [D-Massachusetts] earned positive points by demurring from Chavez’s call for Colombia’s guerrilla groups to be legitimized as belligerents. However, Rep. George Miller [D-California], chairman of the House Education & Labor Committee, said it was not an appropriate time to take up the free trade agreement, because of "new realities" facing the U.S. economy, including rising unemployment and recession fears.  Sadly, Miller ignored the economy-strengthening fact that the FTA allows more than 90 percent of American products and services duty free status, which combined with the undervalued dollar, provides significant export growth potential.  This was the Democrats’ fifth rationale for refusing to take up the bilateral trade deal since its agreement by both parties in late 2006. 

Such a position is extraordinarily frustrating to Colombians in and out of government, because very few of the country’s existing and prospective exports – key among them coffee and fresh flowers – prove a threat to U.S. producers.  That said, encouraging legitimate agricultural exports is a strong means of discouraging farmers from cultivating the coca plant, the source of 90 percent of the world’s cocaine.  Given a little help from its friend to the north, Colombia has a very good chance of achieving the Uribe government’s ambitious plans.  

Despite Hugo Chavez’s current coup in the freeing of two FARC hostages, it can be hoped that truly bipartisan Congressional consideration of the free trade agreement will result in its passage, to the benefit of both countries and a particular boon to efforts to stabilize Colombia.

Geopolitical analyst John R. Thomson writes frequently on bilateral and regional affairs in the developing world.

 

This is the real FARC: Compelling video of the atrocities of this terrorist group. Viewer discretion is advised: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSpJpn1Djqk.  

  1. We encourage you to watch the video and since it’s in Spanish we have prepared a translation of each slide:
  2. The FARC: army of the people?
  3. The FARC are liars.
  4. While the FARC want to take power by force against the will of the Colombian people, our nation must still suffer from their terrorist attacks such as car bombings, kidnappings, drug dealing, land mines and other crimes.
  5. We Colombians are very aware that the FARC never accepts responsibility for the crimes it commits.
  6. Terrorism: Domination through terror; Successive acts of violence executed to spread fear.
  7. This is the real story.
  8. February 25, 1999. The FARC kidnapped and then murdered three Americans who were defending the rights of the indigenous population.
  9. On March 4 the slaughtered bodies of Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatok and Lahe’ ena’e Gay, were discovered with their hands tied.
  10. The FARC denied any involvement but later they had to accept it.
  11. May 16, 1999. FARC members placed a "bomb necklace" around the neck of Elvira Cortez…the victim had to pay the FARC the "monthly security fee" and the terrorists detonated the explosive using a remote control.
  12. December 29, 2000. Diego Turbay Cote, chief Peace Commissioner of the Colombian Congress was detained by the FARC while traveling with five people including family members… They were forced out of the vehicle and murdered.
  13. September 29, 2001, Consuelo Araujo, former minister of Culture was kidnapped and murdered by the FARC. A relative Simon Trinidad was captured in Ecuador for participating in her murder.
  14. March 16, 2002. Monsignor Isaias Duarte, archbishop of the archdiocese of Cali who led a movement against kidnapping, was assassinated by the FARC terrorists.
  15. The FARC targets women, children and the civil population in general.
  16. February 7, 2003: FARC attack: Car bomb explodes in nightclub "El Nogal," killing 36 people and wounding 172.
  17. June 24, 2003: Former Miss Colombia, Doris Gil Santamaria and her husband Helmut Bickenbach were kidnapped and murdered by the FARC.
  18. In a failed rescue attempt, the FARC assassinates former minister Gilberto Echeverry, the governor of Antioquia and eight soldiers they held hostage. In a barbaric act, the FARC leader that held them captives orders the execution of the hostages when he hears airplanes flying over the area.
  19. April 14, 2005. FARC members attack two towns, killing innocent civilians including children, women and the elderly of an indigenous community.
  20. In this image you can see a FARC terrorist preparing a mortar to attack a community.
  21. February 26, 2006. The FARC murder nine Municipal Counsels in the town of Rivera while they were at a meeting. They never claimed responsibility knowing the Colombian people would repudiate such an act.
  22. April 6, 2006. The FARC terrorists attack a train "Transmilenio" where 20 people were injured and one 9 year old child was killed. (Friends appear crying).
  23. The FARC attack the Military Academy and the School of War, were 25 people were killed. As always, they denied any involvement.
  24. October 28, 2006. The FARC detonated a car bomb in Villavicencio. Two people died.
  25. The FARC asked taxi driver Leonardo Baron Martinez (30) to deliver a package to the Fourth Division of the Armed Forces. He never imagined he was carrying explosives which were detonated by remote control. Officer Milton Cesar Guevara (21) was killed in the attack.
  26. March 1 and 3, 2007: In an attempt to kill the mayor of Neiva the FARC placed two bombs that exploded unnecessarily injuring many people including Captain Carlos Alberto Cardona and police officers, Alexander Peralta, Robinson Lonono Sanchez and John Jairo Valdivia. The explosion also injured 8 other people, destroyed the surroundings and set a bus ablaze.
  27. From June 22 until June 24: The FARC attacked the town of Buenaventura killing 2 people including a 2 year-old girl and severely injuring several others. 27. June 28, 2007: The FARC announced via Internet that they have butchered 11 of the 12 Congressmen being held hostage since 2002. The entire country now calls the FARC: Assassins, Terrorists. See the faces of their leaders:
  28. First: Manuel "Tiro Fijo" Marulanda. Second: Manuel "Tiro Fijo" and "Mono Jojoy" Briceño. Third: Ivan Marquez. Fourth: Raul Reyes. Fifth: Timo Chenko Sixth: Alfonso Cano. Seventh: Diego Montoya, a.k.a. ‘Don Diego.’ Eighth: Rodrigo Granda. Ninth: Simon Trinidad.

Chvez to Colombia: the FARC be with you

In the ongoing saga between despot Hugo Chavez and Colombian democratic President Alvaro Uribe over the hostage crisis due to the formers ‘alleged’ friendship with the terrorist group FARC and even though the release of the hostages actually occurred, the cracks in the Chavez – FARC peace façade are already appearing: less than 72 hours following the two ladies’ release, FARC gunmen kidnapped six people. At the same time, Chavez’s plea for FARC and ELN, to no longer be called "terrorists" but belligerent combatants was rejected out of hand. Why it is time for the US Congress to ratify the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia: It would encourage legitimate agricultural exports discouraging farmers from cultivating the coca plant, the source of 90% of the world’s cocaine and could help a crucial US ally in the region in his plans to stop the FARC and Chavez’s dangerous "Bolivarian Revolution."

VIDEO: This is the real FARC: Compelling video of the atrocities of this terrorist group.

Artículo: "Chávez a Colombia: Que las FARC estén con Ustedes."

En este pulso continuo entre el déspota Venezolano, Hugo Chávez, y el Presidente demócrata de Colombia, Álvaro Uribe sobre la crisis de los rehenes debido a la ‘aparente’ amistad entre Chávez y las FARC y aunque la liberación de las dos señoras   efectivamente ocurrió,   las fisuras en esa farsa de paz, que han montado Chávez y las FARC,   ya están apareciendo: a menos de 72 horas tras   la liberación de las dos damas, unos insurgentes armados   de las FARC secuestraron a seis personas. Simultáneamente, de plano fue rechazada la intercesión de Chávez abogando a favor de las FARC y el ELN. Por qué ya es tiempo que el Congreso Norteamericano ratifique el TLC con Colombia: Incentivaría las exportaciones agrícolas legítimas, una poderosa forma de frenar el cultivo de plantaciones de coca, que son la fuente del 90% de la cocaína que se consume en el mundo y ayudaría a un crucial aliado de Estados Unidos en la región en sus planes de frenar a las FARC y la peligrosa "Revolución Bolivariana" de Hugo Chávez.

VIDEO: Estas son las verdaderas FARC. Video de las atrocidades cometidas por este grupo terrorista.

Main News:

  • IMPORTANT: "Hold Chavez accountable for fueling narco-terrorism." Venezuelan opposition launches pact for unity. Pdvsa debt was USD 16 billion in 2007. Colombian intelligence: Venezuela is providing ammunition to the FARC. Radars detect planes loaded with drug leaving Venezuela. Colombian officer: The FARC and ELN are holding hostages in Venezuela. Chavez: Uribe is a "coward" after comments by US drug Tsar Walters. Venezuela ponders further purchases of Argentinean debt. Opposition leader argues Chávez violated anti-drug law: He consumed coca paste. EU rejects deleting the FARC from black list.
  • Ecuador to open trade office in Iran in February. Ecuador President Reshuffles Navy. Ecuador President Reshuffles Navy. Correa Loses Support Again in Ecuador.
  • Food supply in Colombia secured.
  • FTA between Peru and China ready before APEC 2008 Summit. Peru seeks FTA with European Union. Lima, Peru Stock Market Seriously Affected by Shaky US Economy. Peru plans to sell about $263 million in sol-denominated bonds next month.
  • Half Content with Cristina in Argentina. Argentina’s economy expanded 9.6 percent in November from a year earlier.
  • Mexico will increase aid to farmers. Mexico arrests senior drug cartel member.
  • Political crisis deepens in Bolivia.

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For any questions, comments, or those interested in receiving this report in the future or seeking to have their email removed from our list please contact Nicole M. Ferrand at our new e-mail address: themengesproject@centerforsecuritypolicy.org. If you have news stories that you think might be useful for future editions of this report please send them, with a link to the original website, to the same e-mail address. If you wish to contribute with an article, please send it to the same address, with your name and place of work or study.

Argentina’s Kirchner, ally of Chavez

The recent release of hostages Consuelo Gonzales and Clara Rojas after six years in captivity has been an orchestrated victory for Hugo Chavez. Chavez has used his years-old complicity with the very dangerous guerilla insurgency known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to achieve a number of goals already pointed out in the last issue of the America’s Report (see Nicole M. Ferrand, "Colombia’s Uribe Unmasks the FARC"). 

Chavez tried to weaken Colombia’s President, Alvaro Uribe, showing his own ability to release the hostages while Uribe could not. Chavez also tried to enhance himself as an effective mediator and a "true" leader of Latin America. Chavez lost the December 2nd referendum over his proposed constitutional reform. Thus, wounded by that defeat, he proceeded to strengthen his very ambitious foreign policy which consists of increasing his own regional power, spreading his ideas throughout the region while destroying US allies.

[More]President Uribe is a symbol of enmity to Chavismo because he sees the US as an ally and exercises a most legitimate rule over Colombia while being committed to an economic liberal and politically democratic form of government. Colombia is an obstacle to Venezuela’s influence in the region as England and France was an obstacle to Germany prior to World War II. The FARC, on the other hand, is a violent leftist group whose forty year asymmetric war against the Colombian government fascinates Chavez, an enemy of liberal democracy and a promoter of authoritarian socialist regimes.  

However, the other country that showed its dark side most ominously in this episode is Argentina. Indeed the former Argentinean President and husband of the current Argentinean president, Nestor Kirchner, joined Hugo Chavez in what was supposed to be the release of the hostages held by the FARC. This act, as we said, was supposed to bring glory and leadership to Chavez and Kirchner who were both there to celebrate. As we stated in the America’s Report a number of times, Kirchner was an ally of Chavez not only because Chavez provided cheap oil to Argentina and bought part of its debt but also because Kirchner’s Peronist party’s historical populism finds affinity with Chavez and his style. The Peronist-wing, represented by the Kirchners, supports economic nationalism and state-socialism and is strongly "anti-imperialist" as has been demonstrated by Nestor Kirchner’s numerous expressions of scorn for western leaders who visited Argentina during his presidency.    

 

 

For standing with Chavez during the hostage crisis, the Argentinian opposition called Kirchner "immoral". But Kirchner, like his wife, is too shameless to be embarrassed by having linked himself to Chavez. Both deeply admire Hugo Chavez. 

Of course, another interesting episode preceded this dishonorable situation. Before the last Argentinean elections that took place in October, Cristina Kirchner, the current Argentinian President, traveled to the United States. There she flirted with American officials who are always open and naïve enough to be impressed by the magic of such an enchanting woman. She also delivered a very charming and friendly speech to the Jewish community in Venezuela, which has been frightened by the anti-Semitism of the Chavistas and by the harassment of the Chavez government. Ms. Kirchner’s actions were largely interpreted-and this was probably Ms. Kirchner’s intention- as a sign that she will not be as close to Chavez as her husband was. (The Menges Project at the Center for Security Policy was not one of them. To the contrary it correctly stated that Ms. Kirchner is and will continue to be a Chavista. (See America’s Report in this website "The AMIA Bombing: A Case of Deception and Negligence", by Luis Fleischman, August 2, 2007).

Now this double game is over as the US Justice Department is investigating the transfer of $800,000 from the Chavez government to Ms. Kirchner’s presidential campaign. The FBI collected evidence by providing Guido Antonini Wilson, whose bag carrying the money was confiscated by the Argentine customs authority after he landed in Buenos Aires in a plane accompanied by high officers of the Kirchner government. The FBI gave Wilson the status of protected witness. After a short period of "absence", Wilson returned to Miami. In Miami the FBI wiretapped him and thus uncovered a plot by three businessmen working at the service of Hugo Chavez who threatened Wilson that they would kill his children if he disclosed the origin and destiny of that money. The evidence seems to confirm that the money was from Hugo Chavez and destined for Ms. Kirchner’s presidential campaign.

After this incident, the reaction of Ms. Kirchner’s government was more than pathetic. Her chief of staff Alberto Fernandez wrote an editorial in the daily La Nacion where he accused the United States Justice Department of trying to create a rift between Venezuela and Argentina. However, his editorial is very significant as it reflects the nature of Ms. Kirchner’s philosophy and foreign policy. Thus, Mr. Fernandez explained that the regional integration of Latin America, the US loss of control over Venezuela and Bolivia’s energy resources, and Brazil and Argentina’s increasing independence from (US) economic manipulation, has made America uneasy. The reason for this is that these events undermine American plans to "exercise hegemonic power in the region". This type of discourse is a less vulgar but is analogous to Chavez’s anti-yanqui rhetoric.

In the same editorial, Fernandez took a rather defensive position by saying that Argentinian authorities knew about Wilson’s money because it was the Argentinean government that caught it (in reality it was the Customs Administration that did and Cristina Kirchner allegedly lost her temper, attacked her husband and broke a glass when she found out that Wilson was caught. (See America’s Report, "The Suitcase Scandal Linking Kirchner with Chavez" by Nancy Menges and Nicole Ferrand, September 6, 2007). According to Fernandez, the US should have responded to the Argentinian request to extradite Mr. Wilson so that he could be investigated in Argentina. Instead the US chose to investigate the case because it tries to recover its "hegemony" by undermining relations between Venezuela and Argentina. Fernandez claims- based on the recent scandal involving the firing of several US Attorneys – that in the US, prosecutors are political appointees and respond to Presidential policies not to objective justice. This comment is as interesting as it is boldly insolent. During his tenure, Nestor Kirchner moved to establish control over the judiciary (see America’s Report "The Meaning of Kirchner’s Defeat in Recent Municipal Elections" by Luis Fleischman, July 19, 2007).

According to sources in the US Department of Justice, the Argentinean authorities lost interest in the extradition. The US Department of Justice stated that the Argentinean authorities first let Wilson leave the country and second showed no interest in bringing him back. The Department also claims that the US interest in the case is based on the Patriot Act, an anti-terror law enacted after the 9/11 attacks. The law extends US jurisdiction over money laundering operations carried through the US.

 

 

 

More so, knowing the history of Argentina’s legal and political corruption, a hypothetic extradition and investigation of Wilson would have led to nothing but a cover-up, particularly when current evidence suggests that the money was directed to the Kirchner campaign.

 

Kirchner’s reaction was defiant by all accounts. The joint Chavez-Kirchner appearance on the hostage crisis was part of this defiance. But there is more, the Kirchners have once again embraced the piquetero leader and former Kirchner cabinet member, Luis D’Elia. D’Elia is the same man who was ousted from Kirchner’s government over his stand in defense of Iran after a court declared Iran responsible for the 1994 terrorist attack on AMIA. D’Elia is also one of the non-Venezuelan grassroots Chavistas who with the help of Chavez’s encouragement and funding attended seminars in Iran.

 

If we had any doubts where the Kirchners are in the international arena, these doubts have been dissipated by now. Any separation between husband and wife is misleading and artificial. Cristina Kirchner is and should be considered an ally of Hugo Chavez.

This alliance is not only one of convenience but an ideological alliance as wel l. Just this week Roberto Lavagna, former Minister of Economy and Production under Nestor Kirchner, declared that Argentina’s current policies are being dictated by the "impulses of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez." When asked to explain the reasons for his statement, he said "you have to ask the former President Kirchner and the incumbent, Cristina." [1] What kind of consequences this alliance will have for the region and for geo-political security remains to be seen but we will continue to watch closely and report the ramifications of this relationship as it matures.

[1] "Somos furgón de cola de Chávez." January 13, 2007. La Nación, Argentina.

Colombia’s Uribe unmasks the FARC

In the December 20th issue of The Americas Report, we discussed how the international community was pressuring Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to broker a deal with the FARC to facilitate the freeing of some hostages by allowing Chávez to mediate the conflict. One of the conditions was that he would provide proof of life of the captives. Since neither Chávez nor the FARC could provide this evidence, this along with other reasons caused the first attempt at releasing some of the hostages to fail.   

In fact, on November 30, Uribe abruptly ended Chávez’s intervention because the former said that the latter had overstepped his bounds and violated their agreement by directly contacting the head of Colombia’s army.[1] There are allegations that Chávez tried to secure an open area so that he and FARC members could meet without the Colombian government’s permission. It was alleged that Chavez tried to bribe the military to stage a coup against Uribe. The commander in chief went directly to Uribe and told him what he knew. According to País Libre, a leader association in Latin America and the Caribbean in preventing kidnapping, the FARC has 3,000 hostages.  

 

 

Chávez said that ending his mediation was a betrayal and that the FARC would almost certainly have turned over some hostages by Christmas. He insulted Uribe calling him a "liar and cynic" who "does not want peace", adding that Colombia "deserves a better president" and "froze" relations with Bogotá.[2] However, it seems that Chávez kept communicating with the FARC informally, which only adds fuel to claims that he and the FARC have a very close relationship. It was revealed from the letters recovered from hostage Ingrid Betancourt that she listens to Chávez’s TV and radio program "Hello President" daily.

On December 18, Chávez announced that the FARC had told him that they would hand over three hostages: Consuelo González, a former congresswoman held since 2001, Clara Rojas, a politician kidnapped in 2002 and her son Emmanuel fathered by one of the FARC members. Colombia approved the renewed role for Chávez, and on December 28th, the Venezuelan President assembled a high-profile team, including former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, representatives of France, Brazil and several other countries and even Hollywood director, Oliver Stone, a self-proclaimed Chávez supporter who would document the release. They flew in Venezuelan helicopters and arrived in Colombia to witness the liberation of the hostages, calling this mission "Operation Emmanuel."

However, after four days, the plan fell through. The FARC failed to deliver the hostages and never gave the information of the exact location for the release of the captives. In addition to that, President Uribe revealed startling new developments: the FARC would not free the hostages because the boy, born in captivity three and a half years ago was not in their hands at all. According to the Colombian president, Emmanuel, is thought to have been in foster care since June 2005, under the name Juan David Gómez Tapiero, apparently given by FARC to a local rural family due to his poor health. The International Red Cross confirmed Uribe’s claim that his government informed the organization of the child’s existence. Envoys have already conducted preliminary DNA testing and announced that the probabilities of this boy being Emmanuel are very high.

Senior governmental officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that military intelligence has determined that while Chávez was overseeing the "rescue" preparations, the FARC was frantically trying to locate Emmanuel. The FARC is widely dispersed and has a decentralized command so the group’s leaders may not have realized they no longer had the boy or they may have thought they could quickly recover him. The government received a tip about the boy’s real whereabouts and authorities began to go through the records of about 100 children who had been turned over to child protection services in southern Colombia in 2005. They narrowed their search to three boys and in few days said they had located Emmanuel.

Colombia ‘s top peace negotiator, Luis Carlos Restrepo said that the boy believed to be Emmanuel was 11 months old and malnourished when he was brought to a child welfare agency in the small town of San José del Guaviare and that he was currently living in a foster home in Bogotá. Authorities took responsibility and custody of the child in view of his poor health conditions when he was admitted to a hospital. Officials say that the boy in question (Juan David) had suffered an injury at birth, very similar to the injury that an escaped police officer, Juan Pinchao, reported Emmanuel had suffered. The child had burn marks on one hand and suffered from malaria, which is unheard of in Bogotá. At first Gómez told authorities the boy had been born on July 20, 2004 to his niece, but in reality, Emmanuel was entrusted by the FARC to Gómez to take care of him. After promising to release Emmanuel together with her mother, Clara Rojas, the FARC had threatened to kill Gómez if he failed to hand over the boy by December 30th so Gómez went to the authorities to retrieve him but his request was denied. When the truth was revealed, Gómez and his family were taken to Bogotá to give testimony to the Colombian Attorney General. The family is currently under government protection.

When Chávez was informed about this, he became irritated at first but then, as unpredictable as ever, he "wished" Uribe "happy holidays" and told him: "Let’s put aside our differences and work together for peace in Colombia." But Uribe and his government weren’t buying Chavez’s sudden change of heart. "When the FARC began to say that they were not turning over the hostages, supposedly because of military operations, when we had done everything possible within our reach to facilitate the hand over, we saw that the FARC was trying to fool Chávez, the international community and us," said Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos in a telephone interview. The FARC began accusing the Colombian military of launching operations, which Santos and the other senior officials denied. Uribe dismissed the FARC claim as a lie, saying his government would permit a cease-fire corridor to let the terrorist group turn over the long-held captives. "The FARC don’t have any excuses," Uribe said from the central Colombian city of Villavicencio, which had served as the base for coordination efforts."[3]

Analysis

It is possible that Chávez orchestrated the rescue to have his "moment of glory" and lift his image after his defeat in the December referendum , his first major political defeat since he became President in 1998. He even had Hollywood filmmaker, Oliver Stone on hand to document the events which would have boosted Chavez’s image worldwide had the rescue been successful. He hoped the deal would re-shape his credentials as a statesman after developing a reputation for frequent diplomatic blunders and insulting many of the world’s leaders. The success of "Operation Emmanuel" would have enhanced his leadership in Latin America. As we reported in our latest issue, as Chávez was trying to foist himself onto the world stage as an honest negotiator and peacemaker, he reportedly gives sanctuary to the FARC inside Venezuela, provides them with safe houses and arms and views them as a viable political party instead of a long established Marxist insurgency.

By continuing to negotiate secretly with the FARC, Chávez was trying to pressure Uribe to give into the terrorists. The Venezuelan President blamed his Colombian counterpart for the failure of the hostage release in the first attempt in November and portrayed him as a villain, humiliating and insulting him publicly. With this hostage liberation, Chávez and the FARC wanted to weaken Uribe’s image. But Uribe was able to unmask the terrorist group. The FARC could still try to free the hostages at any moment just to help Chávez’s image and prove Uribe wrong. In fact, just today, Thursday 10, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) personnel transported aboard Venezuelan aircraft apparently will be in charge of receiving the two hostages. Only three people are joining the mission: Venezuelan Interior Minister, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, a media adviser of the Venezuelan government and the ambassador of Cuba in Caracas, Germán Sánchez Otero. The Colombian government has announced that humanitarian operations with the presence of other countries will be admitted, but not clandestine actions to achieve the release of prisoners and only when the Red Cross receives the coordinates, will military forces guarantee access for the liberation of prisoners. We will see what happens.

This entire episode has shown Uribe to be a wise and experienced leader, a real democrat and a true ally of the United States in the war against terrorism. It is time for the United States Congress to recognize this once and for all and reward Colombia by ratifying the Free Trade Agreement and boosting Plan Colombia which has helped to contain the FARC, improve the economy, and bring a much greater sense of security and stability to the people of Colombia.

  1. Uribe cancela mediación de Chávez. November 22, 2007. Radio Francia Internacional.
  2. Presidente de Venezuela congeló relaciones políticas y comerciales con Colombia. November 25, 2007. Telesur.  
  3. Virtual fracaso de la operación de liberación de rehenes en Colombia. December 31, 2007. El Diario Exterior, Madrid.

Colombia’s Uribe unmasks the FARC

After Uribe abruptly ended Chávez’s intervention for the hostage rescue in November, the Venezuelan leader kept communicating with the FARC. On December Chávez announced that the terrorist group had told him that they would release three hostages, including a small boy, born to one of the captives and a member of the terrorist organization. On late December, the Venezuelan President assembled a high-profile team to liberate of the prisoners, calling this mission "Operation Emmanuel." But then Uribe revealed the FARC could not free the hostages because the boy, born in captivity, was not in their hands. Although apparently the FARC will release two of the hostages soon just to discredit Uribe and help Chávez, we provide you with an analysis of what really happened and the implications of this case.

Artículo: "Uribe desenmascara a las FARC."

Después que Uribe abruptamente terminara la intervención de Chávez en la operación de rescate en Noviembre, el líder Venezolano siguió comunicándose con las FARC. En Diciembre, Chávez anunció que las FARC le habían prometido liberar a tres rehenes, incluyendo a un niño nacido en cautiverio, cuya madre es una rehén y el padre miembro de las FARC. En Diciembre, el líder Venezolano organizó un grupo de alto perfil para rescatar a los rehenes y llamo "Operación Emmanuel" a esta misión. Pero luego Uribe reveló que el grupo terrorista no liberaría a los secuestrados pues el niño no estaba en poder de las FARC. Aunque aparentemente las FARC liberarían a los rehenes en las próximas horas, para dañar la imagen Uribe y levantar a Chávez hacemos un análisis del caso y sus implicancias.

NEWS:

  • Colombia Captures ELN Leader. Colombia calls for discrete foreign support to hostages. White House expected to offer Colombia FTA.
  • Chile : Bachelet reshuffles cabinet.
  • Bolivia calms down as political forces reach accord.
  • Venezuela : Chávez to push "21st century socialism" in 2008. RCTV reports raging "persecution" against independent press. Inflation closes at 22.5% in 2007. Nine tons of cocaine from Venezuela seized in Lisbon. Venezuela ready for "Strong Bolivar" to tackle inflation . CAF grants USD 50 million loan to Venezuela. Pdvsa cuts payment time for foreign clients. 80 percent of incoming cocaine in Spain goes through Venezuela . Venezuelan oil output down 378,000 bpd in three years. Venezuelans blame government for high crime rates.
  • Ecuador speeds up construction of refinery with Venezuela.
  • Houses of ALBA hold first international meeting in Perú.
  • Argentinean opposition lambastes Kirchner for ties with Chavez.
  • Correa Bolsters Ecuadorian Government.

 

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The Colombian hostage crisis

Ever since Colombian police officer, John Frank Pinchao escaped from the narco-terrorist insurgency inside Colombia, known as the FARC on April 28, 2007, there has been growing pressure on President Uribe to work for the release of the remaining 60 hostages. The most famous among them is Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French-Colombian citizen who has been held since 2002 when she entered FARC territory against government advice. At the time of her capture she was running for president against Uribe. After his escape, Mr. Pinchao gave a chilling account of the inhumane treatment suffered by the hostages and specifically said that Betancourt was being forced to sleep chained by her neck as punishment for having tried to escape five times.

In understanding this story, it is important to grasp the nature of the FARC and what President Uribe is up against in trying to broker a deal with them. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was established in 1964 as a Marxist group that follows a Maoist strategy of protracted peoples’ war with the long term aim of overthrowing the Colombian government and establishing a Marxist state.1 It has a fighting force of approximately 12,000-15,000 and since its inception forty years ago has been led by septuagenarian, Manuel Marulanda a.k.a "Tirofijo."2 The FARC has financed itself through extortions from kidnapping as well as revenues generated from extensive drug trafficking. Since becoming president in 2002, Alvaro Uribe has been successful in containing the FARC and bringing a sense of security to the Colombian population that did not exist prior to his assuming the presidency.

Manuel Marulanda, a.k.a "Tiro Fijo." Source: Jornada, Mexico. Due to Betancourt’s French citizenship, the FARC made it known that they would like French President Nicolas Sarkozy to help broker a deal for her release in late May this year. This coupled with pressure from Betancourt’s family led the French President to try to make a deal to free FARC hostages in exchange for jailed FARC members. He, in turn, pressured Uribe to start a dialogue with the FARC to release her. In addition, Sarkozy thought it would be a good idea to involve Chavez in the negotiations. This past June, over 150 imprisoned FARC terrorists were transferred from prisons to a temporary holding center as part of a unilateral prisoner release that Uribe hoped would speed up an exchange and prompt the FARC to free many hostages they were holding in remote jungle camps across the country. Aside from Betancourt, the 60 so-called political hostages include members of the armed forces and local politicians as well as three U.S. contractors.

On June 4th, the Colombian government released terrorist leader Rodrigo Granda, FARC’s "foreign chancellor," with hopes that he would play an important role in mediating an agreement. But Uribe’s move was promptly rejected by the FARC, which called it a "farce" and a "smokescreen." In a press release, the FARC’s second-in-command, Raul Reyes, rejected the idea of a humanitarian prisoner exchange unless the government first established a demilitarized zone in two southwestern Colombian municipalities.3 The Colombian government has repeatedly refused to concede a safe haven to FARC terrorists as a venue for possible talks. In fact, the government is trying to regain control over previous territory, (known as the Despeje) given to the FARC. Uribe understands that having the Despeje, a 42,000 square kilometer territory in central Colombia was a failed policy because it gave the FARC the ability to arm its forces and build and consolidate significant portions of the drug trade. It is now estimated that there are over 4,000 people being held in captivity in Colombia by illegal armed groups and common criminals.

 

During Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s ill-fated mediation effort to win the release of the hostages, the French and Colombian governments had demanded evidence the captives were still alive. The FARC never delivered the material and matters deteriorated further when Colombian President Alvaro Uribe abruptly ended the Venezuelan leader’s mediation role saying Chavez had overstepped his bounds and violated their agreement by directly contacting the head of Colombia’s army.4 There are even allegations that Chavez tried to secure an open area so that he and FARC members could meet without the Colombian government permission. Even worse, it was alleged that Chavez wanted to bribe the military members to stage a coup against Uribe. The commander in chief went directly to Uribe and told him that Chavez wanted to stage a coup using the military and turn Colombia into a FARC country.

At the end of November, Colombian officials released newly seized videos of FARC-held hostages, including images of Ms. Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors. Also recovered were a series of letters apparently written by the hostages, including what appeared to be the will of U.S. contractor, Thomas Howes. The videos were apparently recorded as recently as late October. The videotapes, which were played at a news conference without sound, showed an extremely gaunt Betancourt apparently chained and in front of a jungle backdrop. Betancourt has long hair and stares blankly at the ground. These were the first pictures since 2003 that provided evidence that the captives might be alive. The tapes were seized during the arrest in Bogota of three suspected urban members of the FARC. The Americans were abducted by the FARC after their surveillance plane went down in a southern Colombian jungle in 2003.5 Sarkozy supported Uribe’s abrupt ending of Chavez’s intervention because the proof of life had come from the Colombian armed forces and not from Chavez. Chavez called that a betrayal and said if he were allowed to continue mediating, FARC leader, Manuel Marulanda, would almost certainly have turned over some hostages by Christmas. Uribe accused Chavez of pursuing an "expansionist" plan in the region. Chávez then called Uribe a "liar and cynic" who "does not want peace", adding that Colombia "deserves a better president."6

Uribe, in turn, accused Chavez of seeking to "build an empire based on his (oil-rich) budget" and of wanting Colombia to be "a victim of a FARC terrorist government". That prompted Chávez to call Uribe "a sad pawn of the empire" (the United States), saying that he was putting relations with Colombia "in the freezer" and recalled his ambassador in Bogotá. Chavez then said he would have "no type of relationship" with Uribe or his government.7 Amid the diplomatic pressure, Uribe just this month reiterated his offer to allow the first face-to-face meeting between officials of his government and rebels, monitored by international and Roman Catholic observers. He said there would be no police and no troops in the 95-square-mile meeting zone and again insisted that mediators arrive unarmed. Uribe is adamant that his government is doing all possible to resolve the hostage issue, but said the response they have had from the FARC is the assassination of several hostages.8

In addition, Colombian police just this month foiled a FARC plot to kidnap President Uribe’s two sons as his government came under pressure to reach a deal securing the release of FARC members in jail. "With this strike, we’ve avoided a terrorist tragedy," police chief Gen. Oscar Naranjo said. "These criminals had declared the president’s sons military targets." Police played an audiotape of conversations they said revealed two guerrillas belonging to the FARC’s elite Teofilo Forero unit talking in code about Uribe’s sons, Jeronimo and Tomas.9

Meanwhile Congresswoman Piedad Cordoba, a self – declared Chavista and opposition Colombian senator who helped facilitate Chavez’s original mediating role, said that the Venezuelan president was willing to forget the past if he could help. Chavez told her "that if in any moment his presence was required by president Uribe, to help with the humanitarian exchange, he would forget the things that have happened and would be ready to contribute," Cordoba told reporters.

In another related development, Chavez ally, Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, last week accused Colombian President Alvaro Uribe of effectively condemning to death a well-known hostage held by Colombian leftist rebels by suspending talks for her release. In his speech, Ortega referred to the leader of Colombia’s FARC as a "dear brother." At the same time as Chavez is trying to foist himself onto the world stage as an honest negotiator and peacemaker, he reportedly gives sanctuary to the FARC inside Venezuela, provides them with safe houses and arms and views them as a viable political party instead of a long established Marxist insurgency. It seems that President Uribe fully understands where Chavez is coming from and said in a recent speech:  

"Your words, your attitudes, give the impression that you aren’t interested in peace in Colombia, but rather that Colombia be a victim of a terrorist government of the FARC," he said in the town of Calamar. The truth is President Chavez, we need mediation against terrorism, NOT to legitimize terrorism… and I reject the idea of Colombia’s tragedy being used in the expansionist projects of Chavez…We want help, but we do not accept expansionist projects…the law cannot be substituted by personal whim…You cannot set ablaze the continent like you do and mistreat Spain, the US, Mexico, Peru and other countries."10

In the next months, it is likely that the hostage situation will be used by Chavez and other Latin American heads of state like Ortega in Nicaragua to bring pressure on Uribe to make a deal that favors the FARC but is detrimental for the political stability of Colombia.

 

Notes

  1. Ungoverned Territories: Understanding and Reducing Terrorism Risks, The Rand Corporation,2007,p. 253.
  2. Ibid, p. 254.
  3. Despite Uribe’s Controversial Release of FARC Prisoners, Colombian Hostage Standoff Continues. June 21, 2007. World Politics Review.
  4. Colombia seizes, releases video of rebel-held hostages, possible evidence of life. November 30, 2007. Los Angeles Times.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Sad pawn sent to freezer. November 29. The Economist.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Mother of captive Colombian says hostage breakthrough more likely from rebels than president. December 12, 2007. IHT.
  9. Rebels attempt to kidnap Uribe’s sons. December 20, 2007. Buenos Aires Herald.
  10. Uribe estalla y emite durísimas declaraciones contra Hugo Chávez. November 27, 2007. Noticias 24.

The Colombian hostage crisis

Ever since Colombian police officer, John Frank Pinchao escaped from the narco-terrorist insurgency inside Colombia, known as the FARC on April 28, 2007, there has been growing pressure on President Uribe to work for the release of the remaining 60 hostages. The most famous among them is Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French-Colombian citizen who has been held since 2002 when she entered FARC territory against government advice. At the time of her capture she was running for president against Uribe. After his escape, Mr. Pinchao gave a chilling account of the inhumane treatment suffered by the hostages and specifically said that Betancourt was being forced to sleep chained by her neck as punishment for having tried to escape five times.

In understanding this story, it is important to grasp the nature of the FARC and what President Uribe is up against in trying to broker a deal with them. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was established in 1964 as a Marxist group that follows a Maoist strategy of protracted peoples’ war with the long term aim of overthrowing the Colombian government and establishing a Marxist state.1 It has a fighting force of approximately 12,000-15,000 and since its inception forty years ago has been led by septuagenarian, Manuel Marulanda a.k.a "Tirofijo."2 The FARC has financed itself through extortions from kidnapping as well as revenues generated from extensive drug trafficking. Since becoming president in 2002, Alvaro Uribe has been successful in containing the FARC and bringing a sense of security to the Colombian population that did not exist prior to his assuming the presidency.

Manuel Marulanda, a.k.a "Tiro Fijo." Source: Jornada, Mexico. Due to Betancourt’s French citizenship, the FARC made it known that they would like French President Nicolas Sarkozy to help broker a deal for her release in late May this year. This coupled with pressure from Betancourt’s family led the French President to try to make a deal to free FARC hostages in exchange for jailed FARC members. He, in turn, pressured Uribe to start a dialogue with the FARC to release her. In addition, Sarkozy thought it would be a good idea to involve Chavez in the negotiations. This past June, over 150 imprisoned FARC terrorists were transferred from prisons to a temporary holding center as part of a unilateral prisoner release that Uribe hoped would speed up an exchange and prompt the FARC to free many hostages they were holding in remote jungle camps across the country. Aside from Betancourt, the 60 so-called political hostages include members of the armed forces and local politicians as well as three U.S. contractors.

On June 4th, the Colombian government released terrorist leader Rodrigo Granda, FARC’s "foreign chancellor," with hopes that he would play an important role in mediating an agreement. But Uribe’s move was promptly rejected by the FARC, which called it a "farce" and a "smokescreen." In a press release, the FARC’s second-in-command, Raul Reyes, rejected the idea of a humanitarian prisoner exchange unless the government first established a demilitarized zone in two southwestern Colombian municipalities.3 The Colombian government has repeatedly refused to concede a safe haven to FARC terrorists as a venue for possible talks. In fact, the government is trying to regain control over previous territory, (known as the Despeje) given to the FARC. Uribe understands that having the Despeje, a 42,000 square kilometer territory in central Colombia was a failed policy because it gave the FARC the ability to arm its forces and build and consolidate significant portions of the drug trade. It is now estimated that there are over 4,000 people being held in captivity in Colombia by illegal armed groups and common criminals.

 

During Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s ill-fated mediation effort to win the release of the hostages, the French and Colombian governments had demanded evidence the captives were still alive. The FARC never delivered the material and matters deteriorated further when Colombian President Alvaro Uribe abruptly ended the Venezuelan leader’s mediation role saying Chavez had overstepped his bounds and violated their agreement by directly contacting the head of Colombia’s army.4 There are even allegations that Chavez tried to secure an open area so that he and FARC members could meet without the Colombian government permission. Even worse, it was alleged that Chavez wanted to bribe the military members to stage a coup against Uribe. The commander in chief went directly to Uribe and told him that Chavez wanted to stage a coup using the military and turn Colombia into a FARC country.

At the end of November, Colombian officials released newly seized videos of FARC-held hostages, including images of Ms. Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors. Also recovered were a series of letters apparently written by the hostages, including what appeared to be the will of U.S. contractor, Thomas Howes. The videos were apparently recorded as recently as late October. The videotapes, which were played at a news conference without sound, showed an extremely gaunt Betancourt apparently chained and in front of a jungle backdrop. Betancourt has long hair and stares blankly at the ground. These were the first pictures since 2003 that provided evidence that the captives might be alive. The tapes were seized during the arrest in Bogota of three suspected urban members of the FARC. The Americans were abducted by the FARC after their surveillance plane went down in a southern Colombian jungle in 2003.5 Sarkozy supported Uribe’s abrupt ending of Chavez’s intervention because the proof of life had come from the Colombian armed forces and not from Chavez. Chavez called that a betrayal and said if he were allowed to continue mediating, FARC leader, Manuel Marulanda, would almost certainly have turned over some hostages by Christmas. Uribe accused Chavez of pursuing an "expansionist" plan in the region. Chávez then called Uribe a "liar and cynic" who "does not want peace", adding that Colombia "deserves a better president."6

Uribe, in turn, accused Chavez of seeking to "build an empire based on his (oil-rich) budget" and of wanting Colombia to be "a victim of a FARC terrorist government". That prompted Chávez to call Uribe "a sad pawn of the empire" (the United States), saying that he was putting relations with Colombia "in the freezer" and recalled his ambassador in Bogotá. Chavez then said he would have "no type of relationship" with Uribe or his government.7 Amid the diplomatic pressure, Uribe just this month reiterated his offer to allow the first face-to-face meeting between officials of his government and rebels, monitored by international and Roman Catholic observers. He said there would be no police and no troops in the 95-square-mile meeting zone and again insisted that mediators arrive unarmed. Uribe is adamant that his government is doing all possible to resolve the hostage issue, but said the response they have had from the FARC is the assassination of several hostages.8

In addition, Colombian police just this month foiled a FARC plot to kidnap President Uribe’s two sons as his government came under pressure to reach a deal securing the release of FARC members in jail. "With this strike, we’ve avoided a terrorist tragedy," police chief Gen. Oscar Naranjo said. "These criminals had declared the president’s sons military targets." Police played an audiotape of conversations they said revealed two guerrillas belonging to the FARC’s elite Teofilo Forero unit talking in code about Uribe’s sons, Jeronimo and Tomas.9

Meanwhile Congresswoman Piedad Cordoba, a self – declared Chavista and opposition Colombian senator who helped facilitate Chavez’s original mediating role, said that the Venezuelan president was willing to forget the past if he could help. Chavez told her "that if in any moment his presence was required by president Uribe, to help with the humanitarian exchange, he would forget the things that have happened and would be ready to contribute," Cordoba told reporters.

In another related development, Chavez ally, Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, last week accused Colombian President Alvaro Uribe of effectively condemning to death a well-known hostage held by Colombian leftist rebels by suspending talks for her release. In his speech, Ortega referred to the leader of Colombia’s FARC as a "dear brother." At the same time as Chavez is trying to foist himself onto the world stage as an honest negotiator and peacemaker, he reportedly gives sanctuary to the FARC inside Venezuela, provides them with safe houses and arms and views them as a viable political party instead of a long established Marxist insurgency. It seems that President Uribe fully understands where Chavez is coming from and said in a recent speech:  

"Your words, your attitudes, give the impression that you aren’t interested in peace in Colombia, but rather that Colombia be a victim of a terrorist government of the FARC," he said in the town of Calamar. The truth is President Chavez, we need mediation against terrorism, NOT to legitimize terrorism… and I reject the idea of Colombia’s tragedy being used in the expansionist projects of Chavez…We want help, but we do not accept expansionist projects…the law cannot be substituted by personal whim…You cannot set ablaze the continent like you do and mistreat Spain, the US, Mexico, Peru and other countries."10

In the next months, it is likely that the hostage situation will be used by Chavez and other Latin American heads of state like Ortega in Nicaragua to bring pressure on Uribe to make a deal that favors the FARC but is detrimental for the political stability of Colombia.

 

Notes

  1. Ungoverned Territories: Understanding and Reducing Terrorism Risks, The Rand Corporation,2007,p. 253.
  2. Ibid, p. 254.
  3. Despite Uribe’s Controversial Release of FARC Prisoners, Colombian Hostage Standoff Continues. June 21, 2007. World Politics Review.
  4. Colombia seizes, releases video of rebel-held hostages, possible evidence of life. November 30, 2007. Los Angeles Times.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Sad pawn sent to freezer. November 29. The Economist.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Mother of captive Colombian says hostage breakthrough more likely from rebels than president. December 12, 2007. IHT.
  9. Rebels attempt to kidnap Uribe’s sons. December 20, 2007. Buenos Aires Herald.
  10. Uribe estalla y emite durísimas declaraciones contra Hugo Chávez. November 27, 2007. Noticias 24.

The Colombian hostage crisis

Ever since Colombian police officer, John Frank Pinchao escaped from the narco-terrorist insurgency inside Colombia, known as the FARC on April 28, 2007, there has been growing pressure on President Uribe to work for the release of the remaining 60 hostages. The most famous among them is Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French-Colombian citizen who has been held since 2002 when she entered FARC territory against government advice. At the time of her capture she was running for president against Uribe.   After his escape, Mr. Pinchao gave a chilling account of the inhumane treatment suffered by the hostages and specifically said that Betancourt was being forced to sleep chained by her neck as punishment for having tried to escape five times. To learn more, please open the attachment.

NEWS:

  • Argentina harshly attacks the US over "the suitcase scandal." "Governments (of Argentina and Venezuela) agreed to conceal origin of the funds." Venezuelan Antonini was offered USD 2 million to keep silence about "the suitcase scandal." Nestor Kirchner Strongly Criticizes the US. Argentina Assumes MERCOSUR Presidency.
  • Recent Bombs Cause Concern in Chile.
  • Student leaders ask the EU to fight "Chávez’s dictatorship." Countdown to New Venezuela Currency. Chávez asks for reward for his patience to join Mercosur. Chávez warns the US: "Do not force us into a violent revolution" in Bolivia. Chávez promises not to invade Washington. CITGO contracts USD 1 billion debt for joint ventures. Chavez Meets With Castro in Cuba – Castro to retire.
  • Betancourt’s relatives ask Uribe to return "good will" gesture to the FARC. Colombia reacts cautiously to alleged release of FARC hostages. France willing to take in Colombian FARC prisoners.
  • Ecuador Erects New Financial Structure. Ecuadorian police finds arsenal together with Osama bin Laden pictures. Ecuador’s state oil company creates arm to manage former fields seized from Occidental.
  • Lula asks Argentina, Venezuela to solve unbalances in the hemisphere.
  • Cuba and China: bilateral cooperation in energy.

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