Colombia: Chavez gave FARC $300M

[RedStarOverChina]

(CNN) -- Evidence found in computers seized in a raid over the weekend suggests that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently gave the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia $300 million, Colombia's national police chief said Monday.
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/WORLD/americas/03/03/ecuador.colombia/art.ecuador.colombia.ap.jpg
Ecuadoran soldiers board a helicopter Monday to Angostura, near the Colombian border.



Speaking at a news conference, Gen. Oscar Naranjo also said evidence in the computers suggests FARC had given Chavez 100 million pesos when he was a jailed rebel leader.

FARC has fought to overthrow the Colombian government for 40 years.

Chavez had no immediate response to the allegations involving him.

Naranjo said other evidence in the computers suggests FARC purchased 50 kilograms of uranium this month.

Meanwhile, Colombia (http://www.cnn.com/Colombia) said Monday it won't send troops to its southwest and northeast borders, where Venezuelan and Ecuadoran military forces were to be separately deployed after a Colombian raid into Ecuador. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/tabs/video.gif Watch what led to attack » (http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/03/ecuador.colombia/index.html?eref=yahoo#cnnSTCVideo)

The Saturday raid, which Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said violated his nation's airspace, left two Colombian rebels dead.

Correa said he was "disposed to go to the ultimate consequences" in response to the raid, and Chavez said he firmly stands behind Ecuador.

Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe said his government "reiterates its affection and respect" for the neighboring countries, according to a statement on a government Web site.

Developments in the northern part of the continent have rapidly unfolded since Saturday, when the Colombian police and air force killed the FARC's second-in-command, Luis Edgar Devia Silva, aka Raul Reyes. The Colombian government described it as the most significant blow yet to the rebels.

Colombia says its police and military attacked the targets after its forces came under fire from FARC rebels about a mile inside Ecuador (http://topics.cnn.com/topics/ecuador).

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos denied Colombia had violated Ecuadoran airspace, but Correa and Chavez assailed the raid as an infringement of Ecuador's sovereignty.

Chavez ordered 10 battalions of troops to the Colombian border Sunday and closed Venezuela's embassy in Bogota. He said Venezuela (http://topics.cnn.com/topics/venezuela) would have declared war on Colombia if its troops had attacked targets in Venezuela.

Chavez called the attack "a cowardly murder" and blamed the United States, a close ally of Colombia. He further called Uribe a criminal, liar and gangster.

"We don't want war, but we will not allow the North American empire -- which is the master -- and its sub-President Uribe and the Colombian oligarchy to divide, to weaken us," he said. "We will not allow it."
I
n a televised address Sunday, Correa called the raid a "massacre" that killed numerous civilians.

Correa withdrew Ecuador's ambassador to Colombia, expelled Colombia's ambassador to Ecuador and ordered troops to the Colombian border. He said an apology alone from Colombia will not suffice.

"We demand signed and formal promises made before the international community that will guarantee that these unacceptable actions will not be repeated," Correa said.

The attack killed Reyes and Guillermo Enrique Torres, aka Julian Conrado, a key ideologue.

Correa said Saturday that Uribe told him the incident occurred as Colombian troops were pursuing a FARC column. He later said his troops learned that Colombian planes struck the rebels as they slept in a camp about a mile inside Ecuador.

Colombian ground forces then crossed into Ecuador and retrieved Reyes' body, leaving the others, he said.

"We will not permit this outrage," he said. "The situation is extremely grave, and the Ecuadoran government is disposed to go to the ultimate consequences."

Correa spoke Sunday with the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela "to share with them the gravity of the situation," he said.
Venezuela is Colombia's neighbor to the northeast, Ecuador to the southwest.

Correa and Chavez are two of several leftist presidents who have been elected in Latin America in recent years. Uribe is a rightist with close ties to the United States.

Chavez is an outspoken U.S. foe who relied on his leftist credentials to help secure the recent release of six FARC hostages. It is estimated the rebel group has about 750 hostages, many of whom have been held for years in harsh conditions in the South American jungle.

FARC justifies hostage-taking as a legitimate military tactic in a long-running civil war that includes right-wing paramilitaries, government forces and drug traffickers.

In Washington on Sunday, the White House said it was monitoring the situation.



"This is an odd reaction by Venezuela to Colombia's efforts against the FARC, a terrorist organization that continues to hold Colombians, Americans and others hostage," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

The United States, the European Union and Colombia consider FARC a terrorist organization.

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press (http://www.cnn.com/interactive_legal.html#AP) contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/03/ecuador.colombia/index.html?eref=yahoo

[RedStarOverChina]

300 Million is obviously too little. The US gives Colombia tens of billions in military aid.

[Marukusu]

I'm not that surprised about Venezuela sending a lot of money to FARC, they are pretty much the only sizeable revolutionary force around, so I almost expected it.
I do wonder what that uranium went... what if FARC has a nuclear bomb in it's arsenal?

(On the other hand, the whole story could be made up by the colombian government to justify more cross-border trespassings and assaults...)

[Herman]

I doubt this is even true. You can download the files which supposedly prove this, but you have to think about a few things before you believe such nonsense:

1. How did 3 laptops (not desktop computers, but laptops which are more fragile) survive a barrage of missile bombardment, which killed many FARC members and obliterated their camp?

2. Why would the FARC leave such important files in one place?

[bcbm]

I do wonder what that uranium went... what if FARC has a nuclear bomb in it's arsenal?

I'd say a dirty bomb is infinitely more likely, though either way using it would be absurd.

[Zurdito]

if it's true (and there is every chance it is a lie), then what a waste of money.

[RedStarOverChina]

if it's true (and there is every chance it is a lie), then what a waste of money.How so?
They need good weapons to shoot down these goddamn American planes.

[manic expression]

Yeah, I'm sure Saddam sent them a check, too. What hogwash. The Colombian reactionaries are pulling lies straight out of their ass and the media doesn't call them on it. Astonishing and typical.

[BIG BROTHER]

Well before Herman's coment, I was almost sure that this was true. But now I ain't so sure. But if it is true, I ain't surprised, Chavez has always manifested his simpaty towards las FARC. If its a lie, then is indeed a escuse that Colombia will keep on using to attack las FARC when they retreat to Venezuela or Ecuador.

Now do you guys think a war is possible? and wether its possible or not, would you consider that if Chavez went to war, it would be wise?

[R_P_A_S]

I call bullshit. Colombia is sick for lying. "we found evidence inside computers" fuck off!. what a bunch of shit.

where's the proof? I doubt Chavez is that stupid.

[Sankofa]

It wouldn't surprise me if it was , in fact, misinformation being spread by the Colombian Government.

This would be a pretty effective way to take some of the heat off Uribe.

[chebol]

Yonkers is right on the money.

Read the script:
1. Chavez and Correa negotiate for hostage swaps with the FARC
2. Colombia tries to derail talks
3. Talks succeed, and some hostages are released, with more in the offing
4. Colombia is politicaly embarrased for its bullshit, fascistic hypocrisy
5. Colombia locates and attacks FARC leader inside Ecuador to regain political ground
6. Uribe lies about it to Correa, but is quickly found out
7. Correa and Chavez are outraged, cut off diplomatic ties, and send troops to the border
8. Colombia claims to have found laptops with the FARC containing:
a) Correa and his interior minister have met with the FARC and a doing deals (never mind that, while true, the deals were towards freing the hostages, and the Colombian government knew about it without any "laptops". How do you think they found Reyes in the first place? They were following him very closely... and preparing to derail any talks.)
b) Chavez is paying the FARC millions of dollars, HUNDREDS of millions!!!
c) Because the first two distortions and lies will eventually prove to be hollow and pathetic attempts at smearing the two outraged presidents, Colombian authorities concoct a scare campaign around the FARC having uranium, thereby "proving" that they "really are terrorists", and probably have links with Al Qaeda, or Iran, or Hezbollah, or someone (maybe it's Mossad, or the Grinch, or someone. Vanunu?). This accusation has the added advantage of being utterly unprovable, but helps feed the scare campaign (read: "terrorism") being doled out by the Colombian government and their imperial masters.

There won't be a war, by the way. This was all an attempt by Colombia to derail the talks for hostage swaps, disrupt their communications with western countries (like France), and put pressure on the FARC militarily in the vain hope that Uribe's prefered solution - military, a lot of military - will work.

It is also aimed at undermining possible support for the March 6 international protests for Peace and Justice in Colombia (against the paramilitaries and the government)


Not gonna work. Viva la Colombia Nueva!

[RNK]

Ya srsly, $300 million? Fuck, that'd be enough for FARC to buy the latest in military technology -- if it is true, what the FUCK are they doing with all of it?!

[Winter]

Ya srsly, $300 million? Fuck, that'd be enough for FARC to buy the latest in military technology -- if it is true, what the FUCK are they doing with all of it?!

That's what I'm sayin'. Obviously, here in America, most people have been manipulated by what Venezuala and FARC really stand for. Most people dismiss them as a terrorist state and terrorist organization. And now that they're being told that the evil "terrorist state" is aiding the "terrorist organization" monetarily, more fear will arise.

The US and other capitalist governments become empowered by the peoples fear. This story is just another way to manufacture consent.

[RNK]

I hope Venezuela is giving FARC money, and I hope FARC puts it to good use. FARC has been on the frontlines fighting right-wing paramilitaries and corrupt bourgeois politics in Colombia and they deserve every ounce of support they get. Hopefully Venezuela will start or continue supporting them, so that FARC can break out of the stalemate they've gotten stuck in.

[Comrade Wolfie's Very Nearly Banned Adventures]

I also seriously doubt that this is true, I'm not shure how you'd power a laptop in the middle of a Jungle or how a laptop would survive air attacks when the people who owned them did not. If the Laptops did exist I think its likely that FARC would have wiped them as the attack on there camp commenced.

Anyhoo if it is war time, who's up for an interational brigade?

[Herman]

I hope Venezuela is giving FARC money, and I hope FARC puts it to good use. FARC has been on the frontlines fighting right-wing paramilitaries and corrupt bourgeois politics in Colombia and they deserve every ounce of support they get. Hopefully Venezuela will start or continue supporting them, so that FARC can break out of the stalemate they've gotten stuck in.

Except it would be wise not to support the FARC with money. It's the perfect excuse the US can use to intervene directly and it discredits Chavez in the eyes of many of his supporters.

[Cheung Mo]

Except it would be wise not to support the FARC with money. It's the perfect excuse the US can use to intervene directly and it discredits Chavez in the eyes of many of his supporters.

Who gives a fuck about liberals. I think Nancy Pelosi has more than adequately summarised the opinion of liberals win it comes to the conflict between Bolivarianism and neo-liberal imperialism.

[Red October]

If FARC had $300 Million they should be rolling into Bogota on some fucking tanks by now...I doubt this is true, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out Chavez had aided them.

[Sankofa]

FARC commanders usually have lap tops for use. Photos taken during interviews shows some guerilla doing some work on computers.

Doesn't make this story any less suspicious though.

[TC]

I'm both sure that Venezuela is giving the FARC money, but that this 'evidence' is fraudulent :p.

The two possibilities aren't mutually exclusive: it makes sense that Venezuelan intelligence would want to fund the FARC, it makes sense that Columbia would want to accuse Venezuela of funding the FARC, it does not make sense that Venezuela would go through direct top level channels to do it though.

[Wanted Man]

Of course, FARC have a dirty bomb. From who? Perhaps Saddam Hussein returned from the death to give them. He also had WMDs, as we all know.

[RedStarOverChina]

If FARC had $300 Million they should be rolling into Bogota on some fucking tanks by now...I doubt this is true, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out Chavez had aided them.

300 million means very little considering FARC's size. George Bush gave Colombia 20 billion in military aid in 2002 alone.

Right now what they need the most is advanced weaponry to shoot down a couple of the American planes. That would do tremendous good.

[bobroberts]

Of course, FARC have a dirty bomb. From who? Perhaps Saddam Hussein returned from the death to give them. He also had WMDs, as we all know.

I think we just found out where Saddam's WMDs went. They were smuggled into Iran by bedouin nomads who hid the devices up their camel's asses, from there Ahmadinejad handed them over to Chavez on his recent visit, and from there they crossed the Venezuelan border into FARC territory. Do I have evidence of this? No, but it's something that evil-evildoers like Chavez might very well do, so it might as well be true! I'm sure you could get an anonymous CIA operative to confirm it. Those guys never lie.

[Wanted Man]

Hmm, I'm sure North Korea, Syria and/or Libya can be implicated somewhere. Let's say the bedouins took a lot of detours.

[Sankofa]

You forgot Osama! I'm sure he had his hand as well.

[Comrade Wolfie's Very Nearly Banned Adventures]

your forgetting illegal immigrants, they were involved somehow, by taking white peoples' jobs yes, they were to blame, clearly.

[metalero]

Yonkers is right on the money.

Read the script:
1. Chavez and Correa negotiate for hostage swaps with the FARC
2. Colombia tries to derail talks
3. Talks succeed, and some hostages are released, with more in the offing
4. Colombia is politicaly embarrased for its bullshit, fascistic hypocrisy
5. Colombia locates and attacks FARC leader inside Ecuador to regain political ground
6. Uribe lies about it to Correa, but is quickly found out
7. Correa and Chavez are outraged, cut off diplomatic ties, and send troops to the border
8. Colombia claims to have found laptops with the FARC containing:
a) Correa and his interior minister have met with the FARC and a doing deals (never mind that, while true, the deals were towards freing the hostages, and the Colombian government knew about it without any "laptops". How do you think they found Reyes in the first place? They were following him very closely... and preparing to derail any talks.)
b) Chavez is paying the FARC millions of dollars, HUNDREDS of millions!!!
c) Because the first two distortions and lies will eventually prove to be hollow and pathetic attempts at smearing the two outraged presidents, Colombian authorities concoct a scare campaign around the FARC having uranium, thereby "proving" that they "really are terrorists", and probably have links with Al Qaeda, or Iran, or Hezbollah, or someone (maybe it's Mossad, or the Grinch, or someone. Vanunu?). This accusation has the added advantage of being utterly unprovable, but helps feed the scare campaign (read: "terrorism") being doled out by the Colombian government and their imperial masters.

There won't be a war, by the way. This was all an attempt by Colombia to derail the talks for hostage swaps, disrupt their communications with western countries (like France), and put pressure on the FARC militarily in the vain hope that Uribe's prefered solution - military, a lot of military - will work.

It is also aimed at undermining possible support for the March 6 international protests for Peace and Justice in Colombia (against the paramilitaries and the government)


Not gonna work. Viva la Colombia Nueva!

exellent!

[dez]

300 million means very little considering FARC's size. George Bush gave Colombia 20 billion in military aid in 2002 alone.

Right now what they need the most is advanced weaponry to shoot down a couple of the American planes. That would do tremendous good.

wasn't it 3 billion?

Anyway, "advanced weaponry to shoot down planes" isn't exactly the kinda matherial you use in guerrilla warfare. They'd have to be a regular army to do that. And they'd have that kinda firepower with 300 millions.
I forgot which country's general said that with that kind of money insurgent groups get to be technically unfightable, but i read it on a newspaper.

[jetpen]

Multiple Levels of Bullshit
1) The uranium dirty bomb claim is certainly bogus. Why would FARC want to "dirty bomb" anything? Spreading finely powdered uranium around an area could, over decades, increase the cancer rate of the local people, should they be too poor to move away from the contaminated area. But in Columbia, with pesticides and drug spraying, would an elevated cancer rate make much of a difference. And why would FARC plot such a diabolically absurdist attack to make poor people get cancer in 2030?
2) Dirty bomb? There's never been a dirty bomb. And for good reason: Dirty bombs are hype. Why isn't there a "dirty bomb" race? "Oh no, Syria has developed the dirty bomb!" hasn't happened. The reason is that dirty bombs are idiotic, purely science fiction. Dirty bombs will never exist. Do a little research on dirty bombs; nobody in arms control or military research takes them seriously.
3) If one wanted to build a dirty bomb, uranium is about the least deadly radioactive material to use. You can hold uranium in your hand. It's stable, which is why it's so abundant. Uranium is more poisonous for its metal toxicity than for its radioactivity. One may as well contaminate an area with finely powdered lead or mercury--which would be deadlier, cheaper, and more difficult to decontaminate. "FARC attempting to purchase mercury, may intend dirty bomb."
4) Nukes? I doubt FARC has the technical capacity to build a breeder reactor, reprocessing plant, and a nuclear warhead. If FARC did indeed want uranium it would perhaps be to give it to some other end user. Uranium smuggling for fun & profit?

Most likely: a creativity impaired spook thought the "trying to buy yellow-cake from Niger" story was super scary. Nothing like 'radioactive' + 'dirty' + 'bomb' for inciting fear.

Prediction: One year from now the whole story will be revealed as bogus. But propaganda only needs to be in the headlines for a few days. CNN Breaking News...Top Story: Our story from 2 years ago was revealed as completely bogus, CNN apologizes.

The "We Are Totally Fucked" Possibility
As near as I can find out from press articles the "discovered" documents don't actually mention creating a dirty bomb, but only the sale of uranium. Not mentioning the absurdity of a dirty bomb increases the credibility of the alleged documents.

Uranium at $2.5 million per kilogram (from the "documents") must be Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU), because otherwise the price is absurd. Low enriched uranium is in the region of $1000/kilogram and un-enriched more like $100/kilogram. According to the mystery documents the FARC has 50 Kilograms available and can get much more. If this is true and it's HEU, then the world is pretty much fucked. Because it means that anyone with enough money can buy HEU on the black market and build at least a fission bomb.

So perhaps my dream of a Mad Max style future has hope. But I think the documents are probably bogus, although perhaps concocted from preexisting Columbian intelligence information revealed through the "discovered" laptop as if it were an expository literary device to introduce information without revealing the true sources.

[Lenin II]

I hope it is true. Chavez genuinely supporting a revolutionary movement in the Western hemisphere would show his dedication to a real live revolution, and not his reformist "21st Century Socialism" parlaimentarianist techniques as well as giving the hardliners a reason to admit he's not as "bourgeoisie" as they say and might have a hand in actual progressive politics.

[Guerrilla22]

Now Uribe is caliming that FARC helped Correa get elected. It seems the claims made by the Colombian government are growing more and more outlandish by the day. I'm waiting for Uribe to claim Chavez, and Correa are actually members of FARC, who have been participating in operations inside Colombia all along. :rolleyes:

[Zurdito]

How so?

Because FARC are a stagnant narco-sect who only serve to divide the peasantry and the urban proletariat with their indiscriminate attacks.

[Sankofa]

Because FARC are a stagnant narco-sect who only serve to divide the peasantry and the urban proletariat with their indiscriminate attacks.

*yawn*

[Wanted Man]

Because FARC are a stagnant narco-sect who only serve to divide the peasantry and the urban proletariat with their indiscriminate attacks.
Right, they're a group of drug-trafficking terrorists who are dividing the Colombian people. But the Colombian army is close to victory. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the information, president Uribe.

[AGITprop]

1) Chavez didn't give FARC 300 million. This is fabricated evidence to create grounds for an insurgency in Venezuela, whether it be complete armed attack (which it wont be) or CIA backed elimination of political leaders and/or leading revolutionaries.

2)FARC has no Uranium. What the hell would they do with it? Im sure their having loads of fun lugging radioactive material around the jungle and mountains.

[AGITprop]

Right, they're a group of drug-trafficking terrorists who are dividing the Colombian people. But the Colombian army is close to victory. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the information, president Uribe.

You are correct. FARC is a terrorist grouped funded with drug money. This is no grounds to support Uribe and Colombia, being a tool of US Imperialism.

[metalero]

They are a stagnant force, and their indiscrimante attacks do divide the worker's struggle, yet they are no sect but rather a political-military organization whose struggle is grounded on the resistance to paramilitary fascism and oppresive social and economical conditions on workers and peasants. They've been involved in mass workers movement such as the Patriotic Union, and they've made it clear that once a democratic progressive government rules colombia and stop the persecution to leftist activists, they would leave arms aside. As for the drug thing, it's been explained thousands times here, the main drug dealer is the Colombian state along with their paramilitaries allies who hold more than 80% of drug business in colombia. FARC only tax coca producing as they tax any commercial activities in their territories. (keep in mind that this is the best choice for many impoverished peasants in colombia

[Sankofa]

It seems it doesn't matter how many times it has to be debunked and explained over and over, we're still going to have to hear about FARC's "narco-terrorism".

[Zurdito]

They are a stagnant force, and their indiscrimante attacks do divide the worker's struggle, yet they are no sect but rather a political-military organization whose struggle is grounded on the resistance to paramilitary fascism and oppresive social and economical conditions on workers and peasants. They've been involved in mass workers movement such as the Patriotic Union, and they've made it clear that once a democratic progressive government rules colombia and stop the persecution to leftist activists, they would leave arms aside. As for the drug thing, it's been explained thousands times here, the main drug dealer is the Colombian state along with their paramilitaries allies who hold more than 80% of drug business in colombia. FARC only tax coca producing as they tax any commercial activities in their territories. (keep in mind that this is the best choice for many impoverished peasants in colombia
yes you're right. I got carried away.

[Fibonacci]

Because FARC are a stagnant narco-sect who only serve to divide the peasantry and the urban proletariat with their indiscriminate attacks.

Agreed. Unfortunately, so are Uribe and his private army, the United Self-defence forces of Colombia.

[metalero]

Behind the Assassination of Raul Reyes (http://www.counterpunch.org/petras03222008.html)

The Cost of Unilateral Humanitarian Initiatives

By JAMES PETRAS
President Uribe's troop and missile assault, violating Ecuadorian sovereignty came very close to precipitating a regional war with Ecuador and Venezuela. During an interview I had with President Chavez, at the time of this bellicose act, he confirmed to me the gravity of Uribe's doctrine of 'preventive war' and 'extra-territorial intervention', calling the Colombian regime the 'Israel of Latin America'. Earlier, during his Sunday radio program 'Alo Presidente', in which I was an invited guest, he followed up with an announcement that he was sending ground, air and sea forces to the Venezuelan frontier with Colombia.
Uribe's cross-border attack was meant to probe the political 'will' of Ecuador and Venezuela to respond to military aggression, as well as to test the performance of US-coordinated remote, satellite directed missile attack. There is no doubt also that Uribe aimed to scuttle the imminent humanitarian release of FARC prisoner, Ingrid Betancourt, being negotiated by the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, Ecuador's Interior Minister Larrea, the Colombian Red Cross and especially Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Kouchner, Larrea and Chavez were in direct contact with FARC's leader, Raul Reyes who, along with 22 others, including non-combatants of various nationalities, were assassinated in Ecuador by Uribe's American-coordinated missile and ground attack. Uribe's military intervention was in part directed at denying the important diplomatic role, which Chavez was playing in the release FARC-held prisoners, in contrast to the failure of Uribe's military efforts to 'free the prisoners'.

Raul Reyes was recognized as the legitimate interlocutor in these negotiations by both European and Latin American governments, as well as the Red Cross; if the negotiations succeeded in the prisoner release it was likely that the same governments and humanitarian bodies would pressure Uribe to open comprehensive prisoner exchange and peace negotiations with the FARC, which was contrary to Bush and Uribes' policy of unrelenting warfare, political assassinations and scorched earth policies.
What was at stake in Uribe's violating Ecuadorian sovereignty and murdering 22 FARC guerrillas and Mexican visitors was nothing less than the entire military counter-insurgency strategy, which has been pursued by Uribe since coming to office in 2002.

Uribe was clearly willing to risk what eventually happened--the censure and sanction of the Organization of American States and the (temporary) break in relations with Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua. He did so because he could count on Washington's backing, which covertly (and illegally) participated in and immediately applauded the attack. That was more important than jeopardizing cooperation with Latin American nations and France. Colombia remains Washington's military forward shield in Latin America and, in particular, it is the most important politico-military instrument to destabilize and overthrow the anti-imperialist Chavez government. Clinton and Bush have invested over $6 billion dollars in military aid to Colombia over the past 7 years, including sending 1500 military advisers and Special Forces, dozens of Israeli commandos and 'trainers', funding over 2000 mercenary fighters and over 10,000 paramilitary forces working closely with the 200,000-man strong Colombian Armed Forces.
Notwithstanding these and other international considerations, influencing Uribe's extra-territorial 'act of war', I would argue that the main consideration in this attack on the FARC campsite in Ecuador was to decapitate, weaken and isolate the most powerful guerrilla movement in Latin America and the most uncompromising opponent to Washington and Bogotá's repressive neo-liberal policies. International politicians, including progressive leaders like Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and Rafael Correa, who have called for the end of armed struggle, seem to overlook the recent experiences of FARC efforts to de-militarize the struggle, including three peace initiatives (1984-1990), (1999-2001) and (2007-2008) and the heavy costs to the FARC in terms of the killing of key leaders, activists and sympathizers.
During the mid-1980's many leaders of the FARC joined the electoral process, formed a political party--the Patriotic Union. The scores of successfully elected local and national officeholders and5,000 of their members, leaders, congress-people and three presidential candidates were slaughtered. The FARC returned to the countryside and guerrilla struggle. Ten years later, the FARC agreed to negotiate with then President Pastrana in a demilitarized zone. The FARC held public forums, discussed policy alternatives for social and political reforms to democratize the state and debated private versus public ownership of strategic economic sectors with diverse sectors in 'civil society'. President Pastrana, under pressure from US President Clinton and later Bush, abruptly broke off negotiations and sent the armed forces in to capture the FARC's high level negotiating teams. The US-funded and advised Colombian military failed to capture the FARC leaders but set the stage for the scorched earth policies pursued by paramilitary President Uribe.

In 2007-2008, the FARC offered to negotiate the mutual release of political prisoners in a secure demilitarized zone in Colombia. Uribe refused. President Chavez entered into negotiations as a mediator. The French government and others challenged Chavez to ask for 'evidence' that the FARC prisoners were alive. The FARC complied with Chavez request. It sent three emissaries who were intercepted and are being detained by the Colombian military under brutal conditions. Still the FARC continued with Chavez request and attempted to relocate the first set of prisoners to be turned over to the Red Cross and Venezuelan officials--but they came under aerial attack by Uribe's armed forces thus aborting the release. Still later, under increased risk, they were able to release the first batch of captives. The French Foreign Minister Kouchner and Chavez made new requests for the release of Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French-Colombian national and former presidential candidate. This was sabotaged when Uribe, with high-level US technical assistance, launched a major military offensive throughout the country, including a comprehensive monitoring program, tracing communications between Reyes, Chavez, Kouchner, Larrea and the Red Cross.

It was this high-risk role played by Reyes as the highest level FARC official involved in the negotiations and coordination for captive release that led to his assassination. Outside pressures for a unilateral release of prisoners caused the FARC to lower their security. The result was the loss of leaders, negotiators, sympathizers and militants--without securing the release of any of their 500 comrades held in Colombian prisons. The entire emphasis of Sarkozy, Chavez, Correa and others demanded unilateral concessions from the FARC - as if their own tortured and dying comrades in Uribe's jails were not part of any humanitarian consideration.
The subsequent summit in the Dominican Republic during the weekend of March 8-9 led to a condemnation of Colombia's violation of Ecuador's territorial sovereignty, but the Uribe government, responsible for the invasion, was not actually named or officially sanctioned. Moreover, no mention was made (let alone respect shown) for the treacherously assassinated leader, Raul Reyes, whose life was lost in pursuit of a humanitarian exchange. If the meeting itself was a disappointing response to a tragedy, the aftermath was a farce: a smiling Uribe, walked across the meeting hall and offered a hand shake and perfunctory apology to Correa and Chavez, while Nicaraguan President Ortega embraced the murderous leader of Colombia. By that vile and cynical gesture, Uribe turned the entire military mobilization and weeklong denunciations by Chavez and Correa into a comic opera. The post-meeting 'reconciliation' gave the appearance that their opposition to a cross-border attack and the cold-blooded murder of Reyes was merely political theater--a bad omen for the future if, as is likely, Uribe repeats his cross border attacks on an even larger scale. Will the people of Venezuela or Ecuador and the armed forces take serious another call for mobilization and readiness?
Less than a week after the Santa Domingo 'reconciliation' meeting, Chavez and Uribe renewed an earlier military agreement to cooperate against 'violent groups whatever their origins'. Clearly Chavez hopes that by dissociating Venezuela from any suspicion of providing moral support to the FARC, Uribe will stop the large-scale flow of paramilitary infiltrators from entering Venezuela and destabilizing the country. In other words, 'reasons of state' take precedence over solidarity with the FARC. What should be clear to Chavez however is the fact that Uribe will not abide by his side of the agreement because of his ties to Washington, and the latter's insistence that the Chavez government be destabilized by any or all means, including the continued infiltration by Colombian paramilitary forces into Venezuela.
Uribe could apologize to Correa and Chavez because the real purpose of his military attack was to destroy the FARC leadership, any way, any place, any time and under any circumstance--even in the midst of international negotiations. Washington placed a $5 million dollar bounty on each and every member of the FARC secretariat, long before Chavez or Correa came to power, Washington's top priority--as witnessed by its military aid programs ($6 billion dollars in 7 years), size and scope of its military advisory mission (1500 US specialists) and the length of its involvement in counter-insurgency activities within Colombia (45 years)--was to destroy the FARC.
Washington and its Colombian surrogates were willing to incur the predictable displeasure of Correa, Chavez and the slap on the wrist by the OAS if they could succeed in killing the Number Two commander of the FARC. The reason is clear: it is the FARC and not the neighboring leaders, who influence a third of Colombia's countryside; it is the FARC's military-political power which ties down a third of Colombia's armed forces and prevents Colombia from engaging in any major military intervention against Chavez at the behest of Washington. Uribe and Washington have pressured Correa into cutting most of the FARC's logistical supply lines and many security camps on the Ecuadorian-Colombian border. Correa claims to have destroyed 11 FARC campsites and arrested 11 guerrillas. The Venezuelan National Guard has turned a blind eye to Colombian cross border military pursuit of FARC activists and sympathizers among the Colombian refugee-peasantry camped along the Venezuelan-Colombian border. Uribe and Washington's pressure has forced Chavez to publicly disclaim any support for the FARC, its methods and strategy. The FARC is internationally isolated--the Cuban Foreign Ministry proclaimed the phony 'reconciliation' at Santo Domingo to be a 'great victory' for peace. The FARC is diplomatically isolated, even as it retains substantial domestic support in the provinces and countryside of Colombia.
With the 'neutralization' of outside support, or sympathy for the FARC, the Uribe regime--before, during and immediately after the Santo Domingo meeting--launched a series of bloody murders and threats against all progressive and leftist organizations. In the run-up to a March 6, 2008 200,000-strong 'march against state terror', hundreds of organizers and activists were threatened, abused, followed, interrogated and accused by Uribe of 'supporting the FARC', a government label, which was followed up by the death squad killings of the leader of the march and four other human rights spokespeople. Immediately following the mass demonstration, the principle Colombian trade union, the CUT (the Confederation of Colombian Workers) reported several assassinations and assaults including the head of the banking employees union, a leader of the teachers union, the head of the education section of the CUT and a researcher at a pedagogical institute.

All told, over 5,000 trade unionists have been killed, 2 million peasants and farmers have been forcibly removed and their land seized by pro-Uribe paramilitary forces and landlords. Former self-confessed death squad leaders publicly have admitted to funding and controlling over one-third of the elected members of Congress backing Uribe. Currently 30 congress-people are on trial for 'association' with the paramilitary death squads. Several of Uribe's most intimate cabinet collaborators were exposed as having family ties with the death squads and two were forced to resign.
Despite international disrepute, especially in Latin America, with powerful support from Washington, Uribe has built up a murderous killing machine of 200,000 military, 30,000 police, several thousand death squad killers and over a million fanatical middle and upper class Colombians in favor of 'wiping out the FARC'--meaning eliminating independent popular organizations of civil society. More than any other past Colombian oligarchic rulers, Uribe is the closest to a fascist dictator combining state terror with mass mobilization.

The opposition political and social movements in Colombia are massive, committed and vulnerable. They are subject to daily intimidation and gangland-style murder. Through terror and mass propaganda, Uribe has so far been able to impose his rule over the working class opposition and attract mass middle class support. But he has utterly failed to defeat, destroy or disarticulate the FARC--his most consequential opposition. Each year since he has come to power, Uribe has pledged massive, all-out military sweeps of entire regions of the country, which would finally put an end to the 'terrorists'. Tens of thousands of peasants in FARC-influenced regions have been tortured, raped, murdered and driven from their homes. Each of Uribe's military offensives has failed. Yet he absolutely and totally fails to recognize what some generals and even US officials observe: the FARC cannot be militarily annihilated and at some point the government must negotiate.
Uribe's failures and the enduring presence of the FARC have become a psychotic obsession: All territorial, legal, international constraints are thrown overboard. Alternating between euphoria and hysteria, faced with internal opposition to his mono-maniac strategy of terror, he screams 'FARC supporters' at any and all overseas and Colombian critics. To Ecuador and Venezuela, he promises 'not to invade their territory again' unless 'circumstances warrant it.' So much for 'reconciliation.'

The period of humanitarian exchange is dead; the FARC cannot and will not accommodate the requests of well-intentioned friends, especially when it puts in risk the entire FARC organization and leadership. Let us concede that Chavez intentions were well meant. His pleas for a mutual release of prisoners might have made sense if he had been dealing with a rational bourgeois politician responsive to international leaders and organizations and eager to create a favorable image before world public opinion. But it was naïve for Chavez to believe that a psychotic politician with a history of annihilating his opposition would suddenly discover the virtues of negotiations and humanitarian exchanges. Without question, the FARC understands better than its Andean and Caribbean friends through hard experience and bitter lessons, that armed struggle may not be the desired method but it is the only realistic way to confront a brutal fascist regime.
Uribe's killing of Raul Reyes was not about Chavez initiatives or Ecuador's sovereignty or Ingrid Betancourt's captivity, it was about Raul Reyes, a consequential and life-long revolutionary and leader of the FARC. The war-scare is over, differences have been papered over, the leaders have returned to their palaces, but Raul Reyes has not been forgotten--at least not in the countryside of Colombia or in the hearts of its peasants.

[Awful Reality]

Viva las FARC!

Anyway, I doubt it's true, and yet I hope it is. $300 Million- maybe, 50kg Uranium-No. Do they claim it to be refined yet? Because I doubt FARC has the resources to do so.

This is a tough time for FARC-EP right now, but they'll pull through. I actually think that alkthough this was originally a Colombian effort to stall hostage talks, Chavez is really using it to divert attention from the (probable) fact that he's hiding Marulanda on his soil.