Posted on 09/10/2003 11:54:01 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Colombia sends message to rebels via Venezuela [Full Text] BOGOTA, Colombia, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe said on Wednesday he had asked Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to pass a message to leftist guerrillas that he is willing to start peace talks. Uribe's comments are the first time the Colombian president has publicly suggested a link between the left-leaning Chavez and the Marxist-inspired Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish initials FARC.
Relations between Bogota and Caracas have been strained periodically over accusations by the Colombian military that Chavez is letting FARC rebels use Venezuela as a staging ground for attacks. In February, Colombia's interior minister accused Chavez of meeting "frequently" with FARC rebels, but was publicly reprimanded by Uribe after Venezuela threatened to break off diplomatic relations. Chavez, who has criticized Colombia's U.S.-backed "Plan Colombia" offensive against drug-traffickers and guerrillas, denies he is collaborating with the guerrillas, who are described as "terrorists" by Washington.
"Last week I told Chavez: 'President, stop worrying so much about Colombia's security policies. Tell the FARC that if they are bored with our policies, they can negotiate with me in five minutes'," Uribe told a university audience in Bogota. Colombian media have alleged that Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, the top FARC commander, has been hiding in neighboring Venezuela since the Colombian government broke off peace talks with the rebel group in February 2002.
Uribe, a close U.S. ally in the war on drugs who took office in August 2002, has launched an offensive against the 17,000-strong FARC, which originated 39 years ago in a peasant uprising. He has said he will only negotiate peace with rebels if they agree to a cease-fire. On Sunday, FARC guerrillas fired assault rifles as Uribe's helicopter flew into a village in northern Colombia. [End]
Great idea.
Doing something about Chavez before this gets even worse would also be a great idea.
We are the overworked ones. If this breaks as I think it will, we'll have to send the South Portland Campfire Girls. Who else is left?
Keep hearing rumors about CHICOM involvement with Castro and Chavez. I know they're in Peru, Bolivia, Panama, and Ecuador. So now wadda we do?
Welcome to war as it is practiced in the 21st century. War with China will be fought in the jungles of latin america, and by Washington PR firms. They will use narco-terrs and they will buy bipartisan control of congress. We will never see it coming, and we will not know it happened after it happened.
As they say, if the tree falls in the forest, and the press tells you it didn't happen, trust me, it didn't happen.
The Panamanian port contract with China is a perfect example of how it works. There was no publicity prior, the Panamanian congress locked itself away over a weekend to hammer out the law, and only announced it Monday morning once the law was law and the contracts signed. Clearly, the Chinese bought the president and key members of the leading parties.
They know their way around Washington as well.
A partial answer is to take a proactive interest in the makeup of Latin American governments and military institutions. We knew how to do this during the Cold War. This is Cold War 2. Between the Chinese and the Islamists, Latin America is the next battleground. We don't dare intervene openly, we don't want Venezuelan blood on our hands, whatever happens. But we must be prepared to back forces within Venezuela, and Panama, and so forth, who are prepared to fight for their own sovereignty and for republican government.
Our flat-footed defensive posture in Colombia needs to be left in the closet. We have to take the attitude we took in Central Asia; why focus on the triggermen leaving the leadership to sleep safe in their beds?
* Ana Belinda Macias Arismendi, a member of FARC, carried a false Venezuelan identity document [No. V-12438823] when Ferreira was asked to help get her to Cuba.
* John Maisto : A former Clinton Administration official who is still on Condoleezza Rices NSC staff, has as his responsibility the oversight of "all of Latin America. This is the same John Maisto who, according to syndicated columnist Robert Novak, was formerly Bill Clintons ambassador to Venzuela. At that time, says Novak, Maisto "privately advised Congress not to worry about accession of the leftist Hugo Chavez to that nations presidency. Since taking over, Chavez has firmly allied himself and his nation with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Condoleezza Rice enjoys high confidence at the White House. Observers who respect her, but are nervous by the presence of Maisto on her staff, hope that she will not be listening to his reported effort to direct policy toward "normalization of relations with Cuba. He told Congress a few years ago not to worry about Chavez, and Chavez now "provides a $2 billion petroleum subsidy to Fidel Castro and allies his country with countries like Iran, Iraq, and communist China, according to Whittlesey.
***
An interesting post at #33 concerning 911 terrorists and a Venezuelan passport : Squeeze Here
Dang.
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