In an attempt to limit the political damage, Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, had earlier declined an invitation to appear before a hearing of the committee today on the IRA's relationship with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia [Farc] narco-terrorists. "Colombian authorities assert that not only has the IRA operated in the former safe haven on behalf of the Farc, but also the Iranians, Cubans, and possibly Eta [Basque terrorists], among others," a summary of the committee's report said.
The inquiry was launched last summer after James Monaghan and Martin McAuley, both convicted of IRA offences, and Niall Connolly, Sinn Fein's representative in Cuba, were arrested in Bogota and charged with aiding the Farc. "Colombia is a potential breeding ground for international terror equalled perhaps only by Afghanistan, and the IRA findings are the strongest among these global links because of the arrests of the three Irish nationals and the accompanying evidence," said the summary.***
________________________________________________________________
Terrorists active in U.S. 'backyard': Latin America hotbed for both al-Qaida, Hezbollah***Both al-Qaida and Hezbollah are active in the common border area of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, according to an earlier statement of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in hearings before the Foreign Appropriations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, cited in a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The activities of the Irish Republican Army, Iran, Cuba and various international terrorist networks operating in Colombia may turn that Latin American nation into a "breeding ground for international terror equaled perhaps only by Afghanistan," according to the committee report.
Further to the south in Latin America, Hezbollah and the terrorist Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) are operating in the tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The suspected activities of these groups include counterfeiting U.S. currency and drug smuggling, with the area in which they function described as a "haven for Islamic extremists" by the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Asa Hutchinson, in testimony before the House International Relations Committee. "The situation in the tri-border area [of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil] highlights the ease with which terrorist organizations can infiltrate and assimilate in other countries and go relatively undetected for an extended period of time," Hutchinson stated.
The linkage among various terrorist groups and nations associated with support of terrorism in Latin America combines considerable financial resources and technological expertise. In addition to the vast oil wealth of Iran, the South American terrorist network can rely upon South American drug money to finance its activities. Colombia alone produces 90 percent of the cocaine and "at least" 70 percent of the heroin sold in the U.S., according to estimates of the House International Relations Committee.***
_________________________________________________________________
Death threats scare off two star witnesses in IRA trial *** The prosecution of three alleged IRA men accused of training Colombia's Marxist rebels was thrown into turmoil yesterday when the two key witnesses against them refused to come to court, saying their lives would be in danger. Amid chaotic scenes the trial was adjourned until February.
"The witnesses Edwin Giovani Rodriguez and Jhon Alexander Rodriguez, as guerrilla deserters, have received threats against their lives and so will not be attending the court," said a witness statement read out in court. The testimony of the two men is crucial to the prosecution's case as they say they saw Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
The three Irishmen, all with links to the IRA or Sinn Fein, are charged with travelling on false papers and training rebels in terrorism techniques. Alexander Rodriguez has been presented by a source in the prosecutor general's office as the crucial part in the prosecution's case. He is an Farc deserter, and acted as the driver and bodyguard of guerrilla commander Fabian Ramirez, in whose territory the training was alleged to have taken place. The legal source indicated that he is the key witness who allegedly saw the Irishmen training the rebels in explosives, although there are others who claim they saw them with guerrilla commanders.***
______________________________________________________________
Feb 8, 2003 - Bombing in Colombia kills at least 20 Bombing in Colombia kills at least 20 (AP)
[Full Text] BOGOTA, Colombia - A powerful bomb rocked an exclusive club in Bogota Friday night, killing more than 20 people, leaving about 100 injured and setting the 10-story building on fire.
Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus said a theory that the explosion may have been an accident had been discarded by investigators, who determined that explosives caused the blast.
It was the worst terrorist attack in Colombia since Pablo Escobar's Medellin drug cartel unleashed a wave of terrorism in the 1980s and early 1990s to avoid extradition to the United States.
The blast showered bricks and mortar onto a busy boulevard, caving in the roofs of cars that were passing by. Victims were taken to several hospitals. There was no immediate total casualty count.
Leftist rebels have recently begun bringing their four-decade-old war from the countryside into the cities, but no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the 10-story El Nogal Club in north Bogota. The club is frequented by politicians and business executives.
The blast was heard for miles in Bogota, a city of 7 million. Experts estimated that at least 450 pounds of explosives were used.
"It was a huge explosion. I thought an airplane had crashed outside," said Luis Moreno, who lives across the street from the club on Seventh Avenue and whose apartment building's windows were shattered.
The explosion blew out the walls of an interior parking garage at the club, raining rubble onto the street below. Paramedics were seen giving CPR to a man lying in the debris.
"We were having dinner when the bomb went off," a man, his faced blackened from smoke, said as his wife was carried away on a stretcher by paramedics. Scores of people stumbled from the wrecked building, many with their faces streaked with blood.
Jorge Velandia, who works at the club's miniature golf course, said the blast opened up a hole in one of the floors, and people tumbled through.
Several children were among the injured. Witnesses had said children were to put on a ballet show at the club Friday night. Their fate was not immediately known.
Black smoke poured from the building, and flames licked out from upper windows. Two hours after the blast, firefighters had the blaze under control.
The club features restaurants, a gym and rooms for overnight guests.
"We felt an explosion that shook the whole building," said Alfonso Espejo, a doctor employed by the club. "It was almost impossible to breathe in the smoke."
Catalina Ortiz told Radionet that she was driving with her daughter and husband on the main street in front of the club when she felt the explosion and thought her car had been hit.
"When I looked back I saw the club was on fire, with a ball of fire coming out of the third or fourth floor. While I was looking back, things began to fall out of the building," she said.
The destruction recalled the drug wars of a decade ago. Since Escobar was killed by police in 1993, Colombia's cities have largely been immune from the violence in the countryside.
President Alvaro Uribe, who is cracking down on the leftist insurgency, visited the scene at midnight with his top security officials.
The attack was the second blow to hit Colombia in as many days.
On Thursday, a small plane carrying Minister of Social Welfare Juan Luis Londono and four other people disappeared on a domestic flight. Suspected rebels fired on a helicopter searching the Andean mountains of central Colombia for the plane on Friday.
The helicopter was hit four times but was able to return safely to its base and no one was injured.
Civil aviation spokesman Martin Gonzalez said the search operation would continue despite the danger in the area, which is controlled by rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
The FARC and a smaller rebel group -- the National Liberation Army -- are fighting the government and a handful of outlawed paramilitary groups.
U.S. Army special forces arrived in Colombia last month to train a brigade of Colombian soldiers in counterinsurgency tactics. [End]
Wait until the bomb that goes off this country includes the signature of the IRA in addition to that of AlQada.
Now that they're working together, those "charities" for the Irish should also be put on the list, and some of the figureheads for those also picked up and interrogated.