Nobody EXPECTS the Spanish Inquisition!
Posted on 04/27/2008 4:46:23 AM PDT by RouxStir
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Somali pirates freed a Spanish fishing boat and its 26-member crew after a ransom of $1.2 million was paid, a Somali official said.
The Playa de Bakio was the latest vessel to be targeted by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Suspected pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades had seized control of the tuna-fishing boat from Spain's Basque region last Sunday about 200 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, a region where piracy has escalated recently.
The pirates released the ship Saturday, authorities said.
The crew was freed after Spanish authorities paid the ransom, Abdi Khalif Ahmed, chairman of the Haradhere local port authority in central Somalia, said late Saturday.
"The ship is free and the pirates disappeared into their villages," he said. ...
In Madrid, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said Saturday that the trawler, the 250-foot-long Playa de Bakio, was sailing home escorted by a Spanish frigate. She would not comment on any ransom. ... ..."The 26 crew are in perfect condition and we are communicating this to the boat's owners and the families," she said.... ...Spain had sent its most modern frigate, the Mendez Nunez, to the region, and it was now escorting the Bakio, De la Vega said. It had been on maneuvers in the Red Sea when it was diverted to the Somali coast.
"We are satisfied because the crew's safety has been preserved at all times," De la Vega said.
She said the crew would be relieved from duty aboard the fishing vessel "in the shortest space of time possible," to allow them to fly back to Spain.
"We have taken steps so that similar situations do not happen again," De la Vega said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
you can pay your way out of anything
also seems the pirates now just have to recognize flags and enjoy the profits
Nobody EXPECTS the Spanish Inquisition!
Need modern stephen decatur
Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!
— Thomas Jefferson
ARRRrrrr... will that be cash or credit??? 
bump
...”The 26 crew are in perfect condition and we are communicating this to the boat’s owners and the families,” she said...
Hard to believe this statement. What else is she lying about?
Still, the media refuses to make the connection here. These “pirates” don’t take the money and go live on a resort beach somewhere for the rest of their lives. These are Jihadists in Somalia who use the ransom money to fund their ops in Somalia.
No, you've taken steps to ensure that it happens again. And if not to Spain to some other country.
Ms. de la Vega, you're a politician so you should understand this oh so basic rule of human nature:
What one would discourage, one taxes.
What one would encourage, one subsidizes*.
*Subsidizes - that would be paying muzzies to commit piracy.
about $27.00 and my MasterCard...
Come on! They are Basque sailors, they know what is to pay ETA extortion!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.