FARC Dissidents Assist Colombia

[Zorro]

Source: Washington Post

Raúl Agudelo was a fearsome commander of Colombia's largest rebel group, carrying out killings, kidnappings and extortions for more than 20 years. It was the only life he really knew. But going back to that life is now the last thing he wants to do.

Agudelo, who has a military-style haircut and speaks in loud, effusive bursts, is instead part of a growing movement of former rebels speaking out against the group from jail. In doing so, these dissidents are posing yet another challenge to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has long relied on its imprisoned members to help plan kidnappings, killings and arms smuggling operations on the outside.

"The FARC wants combatants because they are qualified, structured people who have major knowledge in explosives and technical know-how about combat and urban work," said Agudelo, sitting on a patio at Bogota's La Picota prison with four other veteran guerrillas. "The FARC has a great investment in the jails, and the FARC wants to reactivate 1,000 qualified combatants."

He added: "We are saying, 'We don't want to go.' "

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080103117.html

[Peace Patriot]

1. Amnesty International attributes 92% of the murders of union leaders in Colombia

to the Colombian military and closely tied rightwing paramilitary death squads (and only 2% to the FARC--the rest are attributed to organized crime). So, it is the Colombian military and its death squads that need to say "We don't want to go," to significantly improve the security of ordinary people in Colombia.

As to this fellow's particular statements, they are about as reliable as the statements of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay--or any prison run by fascists. He'll say whatever he needs to say, to avoid torture and death or other fascist control methods (threats to family, deprivation of food and fresh air). There is a possibility that what he's saying is true. But it's only a possibility.

As for trustworthy news, the Washington Post is about as trustworthy as Dana Perino. They reprint pre-written fascist/Bushite scripts.

[Ravachol]

2. Oh. That prison!

The one where you can literally buy yourself a suite, with plasma TV and the likes. How amusing. A patio, eh.

Guess they were paid some handy money or promised a better life in jail if they would speak out against their former organization to help with the Colombian Propaganda Ministry. 'Cause it's certainly not the FARC that is busy terrorizing the population and union leaders in Colombia... It's the f'ing military, backed by the CIA.

[Judi Lynn]

3. There was a special news program on it once on TV. They indicated the narco-traffickers

who deign to allow themselves to live there can even have their own chefs, and own personal food brought in.

Nothing's too good for the right-wing narco-traffickers, to be sure!

Some show interviewed Salvatore Mancuso in his prison, and showed his fitted out room. Amazing!



Mancuso

[bitchkitty]

4. What an interesting piece of bullshit.

So this fellow is in prison - and enjoying special treatment from his captors. I expect he'd say anything they want him to say.

[Zorro]

5. Sounds as if the program is having some success

It's no surprise the FARCies want to change the subject.

They can't accept it when their favorite band of merry revolutionaries is revealed to be a group of murderous criminal narcoterrorists, and that Uribe's policy is working.

[bitchkitty]

6. Um - yea sure, Zorro. That's what it is.

I so look forward to your links. I'm sure that with practice I can learn to believe the corporate media too, and even work to advance their cause! Thanks!

[Zorro]

7. So care to point out what you dispute in the article?

Or are you just going to assert that nothing published in the WP is true?

[bitchkitty]

8. No - but I think that Colombian prisons being what they are,

these men's conversions may not be all they seem. I don't support using jailhouse snitches to convict people of crimes - and I take anything the Colombian government claims with a huge grain of salt.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zorro]

11. So are you saying that FARC prisoners won't take the offers and talk?

Now who's spewing gibberish?

[ohio2007]

18. LMAO

the blind leading the blind...

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Hamas arrested several Palestinian youths that Israel returned to Gaza on Sunday after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said they were not part of a Fatah-linked group granted passage through the Jewish state, an official in Abbas' office said.



Fatah fighters fleeing Hamas in Gaza are detained at an Israeli army base Sunday at the Nahal Oz crossing.


http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/08/03/palestinian.infighting/index.html




time to 'lock' the thread when you consider the source of this kool aid story ;


Hamas immediately arrests Fatah loyalists returned by IDF


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1215331170502

It can't be true .....

[Judi Lynn]

21. I think my post to you was pitched, shocking the hell outta me, as it was surely not objectionable.

I can't remember it, do you, by any chance?

I hate to let this space remain empty, as I have a great bit of information I need to post, from The Nation's Bill Weinberg:

COLOMBIA'S HEART OF DARKNESS IN MANHATTAN —AND D.C.
by Bill Weinberg, The Nation

Colombian paramilitary commander Diego "Don Berna" Fernando Murillo—ex-boss of Medellín's feared Cacique Nutibara Bloc—was arraigned in federal court in Manhattan last month on cocaine charges that could land him in prison for thirty years. He is one of fourteen top commanders of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) who had turned themselves in to serve reduced sentences in Colombia under the supposed demobilization plan and were summarily extradited to the United States in May. The Colombian government, justifying this violation of the terms of their surrender, charges that they had not lived up to their commitment to compensate victims and sever links to crime networks.

The US State Department has designated the AUC a terrorist group. But the US charges against Don Berna and his confederates all concern cocaine, not violence. Rights watchers fear their extradition will mean little chance of justice for their victims. Survivors have filed hundreds of complaints against each of the paramilitary blocs the fourteen led.

Although media reports have not noted it, Don Berna was linked to one particularly horrific crime—not against rival narco-lords or left-wing guerillas but against peasant pacifists who had declared their jungle village in the war-torn Urabá region a "peace community." Since 1997, San José de Apartadó, in one of several such citizen initiatives in Colombia, has maintained a policy of non-collaboration with any of the armed actors in the country's war—the army, paras or guerillas. For this stance, the village has been repeatedly targeted for bloody reprisals, chiefly from the paras.

In February 2005, eight San José residents, including community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra and three children, were killed in the outlying fields. The village was subsequently occupied by the army and the residents forced to take refuge in a camp they have dubbed San Josécito (Little San José).

This year fifteen army troops were arrested in connection with the massacre. In May, just before Don Berna was extradited, the highest-ranking of them, Captain Guillermo Gordillo, started to cooperate with prosecutors, confessing that the massacre was carried out as a joint operation by the army's 17th Brigade and the Don's local Heroes de Tolova paramilitary bloc. Gordillo added that his superiors knew of the massacre and were involved in its planning.

SOA Watch, the group that monitors the US Army's School of the Americas (now officially the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), reports that the commander of the 17th Brigade received training at the SOA. General Héctor Jaime Fandiño Rincón attended the Small-Unit Infantry Tactics course in 1976. In December 2004 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

The United States has provided the Colombian government with more than $6 billion in mostly military aid since the Plan Colombia initiative was launched in 2000. In 2009, total US aid to Colombia will top $750 million. Despite the AUC "demobilization," which took effect in 2005, the "remobilzed" Black Eagles paramilitary network remains active across Colombia—and has assassinated more leaders of the San José peace community. Rights watchers continue to charge collaboration between paras and the army—this despite the "para-politics" scandal that has shaken the government of President Alvaro Uribe, with several leading politicians in jail awaiting trial on charges of paramilitary collaboration.

More:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/5842

[Zorro]

10. Chasing The Cash

<snip>

August 1, 2008: Military intelligence is getting better at finding FARC camps. This is a combination of aerial reconnaissance, electronic eavesdropping and an informant network on the ground. This enables the air force to bomb the camps, quickly followed by ground troops swarming the ruins for more information, and maybe a prisoner or two. The government is getting better at finding these camps, and FARC has not come up new ideas to keep themselves hidden.

FARC leaders have refused an offer of exile, an offer the government thought would be attractive. The government offered a peace deal that allowed the FARC leaders to go to Europe, or whoever would have them. Actually, some of the FARC leaders are in favor of this option, at least that's what intelligence reveals. But most of the FARC leadership (several dozen men) want to stay. These are wealthy men, with millions of dollars overseas, but they are seeing their drug profits threatened by getting tagged as an international terrorist (and drug producing) organization. The FARC leaders have seen how these deals can eventually come apart as victims seek revenge, and get amnesties revoked. So the FARC brass are trusting in their guns, and opting for fighting to the death. And there's still plenty of money to be made, over $200 million a year for FARC.

July 31, 2008: In Europe, police are paying more attention to local FARC agents. In Spain, the chief FARC operative in Spain (who apparently looked after financial matters) was arrested. The Spanish operative belonged to an international charity (an NGO, or non-governmental organization) that actually served to help move FARCs money around. Colombian intelligence has penetrated this overseas FARC network, and is passing names, and crimes, to European police. Colombian intelligence is also letting police in neighboring nations know who FARC operatives are, and what they do. Successful police operations in Colombia are driving the drug trade to neighboring countries, so even Venezuela is arresting drug-related FARC operatives. While Venezuela feels ideologically connected to FARC, no one wants anything to do with the criminal sidelines (cocaine and kidnapping). Colombia always stands ready (with evidence and legal papers) to extradite these FARC minions, and, increasingly, the foreign nations are willing to get rid of these cocaine traffickers. The larger intelligence haul has also brought with it more action from the U.S. Treasury Department, that pursues the international banking and commercial connections of the drug gangs...

<snip>

More at: http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/colombi/articles/20080801.aspx

[Ravachol]

12. I, for one, question your source.

Strategypage is as right-wing as it gets and totally sold out to the CIA. It's opposed to virtually any left-wing movement, especially in South America. It calls Iran "The Devil". So far, more than 90% of its published articles on the "Colombian War" (as they call it) are against the FARC, with titles such as:
-FARC Is Burning At Both Ends
-Leftist Rebels Run For Cover
-FARC Fading Faster
-Rebels Without a Clue
-The Revolution Is Over
and the fabulous:
-FARC On The Run From Itself

In these glorious articles, they also call Chavez "FARC's ally", don't cite any source (not even "unnamed" sources, they simply put up bullshit, without providing any info as to who they are taking their cues from).

Here's an excerpt, from "Kill the Babysitter":
"January 7, 2008: FARC was more than a little embarrassed when it was discovered that one of the hostages they were offering to release, the three year old son of one of their adult captives (a woman political operative who had been kidnapped in 2002) was found to be living in a foster home in the capital. DNA tests confirmed the child's parentage. FARC had ordered the year old child to be turned over to government welfare authorities in 2005, under a false identity, so that it could get life-saving medical care. Recently, FARC ordered the man who turned the kid in, to retrieve him, and the guy (a poor rural farmer) couldn't. FARC didn't know that the government had sent the baby to the capital for medical care, and then put the kid into foster care. "

So, according to them, the FARC liberated the year old son of a political captive so he could get life-saving medical care. They first sent a poor rural farmer (Sending a farmer to take care of the son of a political operative?!) to accomplish that task, alone (?), and he probably sent the kid to some rural place (where you could get life-saving medical care?) 'cause they then moved the kid to the capital (to receive life-saving medical care or they just don't have foster homes in more rural areas?). And then the FARC sends in the same guy to retrieve him?

Yeah... sure. That story is a perfect example of what their "journalism" is all about: propaganda. For morans.

Here's how they closed their article:
"FARC ally, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was also dismayed that he was unable to depend on FARC. "

Since they don't say who authored each article, we are led to believe they all have been written by the same propagandist.



Another one for some fun. Here's how they comment on the U.S Presidential election, in "Waiting for Lefty", in regards to the "Colombian War". I'm sure you'll enjoy it:
"April 23, 2008: FARC is depending on the upcoming U.S. elections to save it from destruction. A leftist president, added to the existing leftist majority in the U.S. Congress, would result in less support for the Colombian government campaign to destroy FARC. But locally, FARC is seen as beyond salvation. FARC supporter, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, has urged FARC to release all its kidnapping victims. "
Electing Obama (a leftist?! LOL?) will lead to less support for the Colombian government? Yeah, I'm sure Obama will be all around, vouching for FARC. Just like he'll shutdown that pesky embargo on Cuba, right? And sign a Caracas Pact, to form a new socialist front with his new ally, the Grand Socialist Bolivarian States? Please.

Here they are, at strategypage.com (your fabulous link), openly thinking about an american invasion of Venezuela, in "Gangbusters":
"May 7, 2008: FARC is trying desperately to counter the bad press it is getting from information found on the laptop of a FARC leader killed on March 1st. The latest item revealed shows Venezuela seeking terrorism training from FARC, the better to resist the coming American invasion of Venezuela (an article of faith among Venezuelan leftists). "

Another, on "taking techniques from Iraq and Afghanistan", in "In a cold sweat":
"July 13, 2008:
/snip
The U.S. Army Special Forces do deserve some credit. For over two decades, the U.S. 7th Special Forces Group, which specializes in Latin America, has had training teams in Colombia. Thousands of Colombian troops have gone to U.S. Army schools for counter-insurgency and intelligence work. The U.S. troops have taught their Colombian counterparts what new techniques have worked in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Colombians get access to the latest American intelligence collection gear (either for their own use, or with American operators for the top-secret stuff). The Colombians have been good students, and the intelligence and special operations successes of the past six years have been all Colombian. "
Oh, the irony. Taking lessons from such successful wars. And the School of America part... how amusing.

And in "Divide and Conquer", it makes the following assertion:
"July 23, 2008: The government, because of a large haul of FARC documents captured this year, now know that neighboring countries, like Venezuela and Ecuador, are close allies with FARC, and more intent on helping FARC take over Colombia, than in brokering a peace deal. Many Europeans who have been involved in the "peace process" are now known to be pro-FARC, and just using false neutrality to get in and out of Colombia."
Any source? You bet!

I am confident that, at this point, your source doesn't have any ounce of legitimacy and is nothing more than a right-wing propaganda site, destined to impress the rather low information reader.

[Judi Lynn]

13. After seeing your post, I found a review of the source:

Strategypage.com is not a news site but rather a site that posts commentary on recent military and global news events. While their "articles" sound insightful, if you've been to site long enough, you'll realize that most of what is written is pure fantasy and almost everything the articles say turn out to be false. For one thing, they've been putting out weekly articles for the last three years spinning the latest news from Iraq as the final death-knell of the insurgency.

If you still think the site is "insighfull" and the "perfect anti-dote for the wide-eyed panic merchants parading as newscasters", consider this: James Dunnigan, the founder of the site and the person who writes most of the articles was drafted in the 60s and served as a rocket repair techincian for a missile battery (http://jimdunnigan.com/bio.htm). HE HAS NO OTHER MILITARY EXPERIENCE. Basically, by reading stragypage.com, you are reading the ramblings of a glorified missile mechanic.

http://www.amazon.com/StrategyPage-com/dp/B00006CI4H

[ohio2007]

17. your source is an member op ed from "Dallas" ? that says a lot

http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/APC0JE913687C/ref=cm_cr_dp_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview

What does he say about your op Ed dot ORG's ? ;)

[Zorro]

14. Question away

So precisely what assertions in the article to you dispute?

I notice you carefully avoided responding to the actual linked article, instead going at great lengths to divert attention from it.

[Ravachol]

15. Which article?

Chasing the Cash? Or the original OP?

Chasing the Cash is full of assertions backed by nothing, like a hot air balloon. You're in the "with us or against us" attitude, here. I'm not on the FARC side, I'm saying that:
1)Chasing the Cash comes from an unreliable source, a site known for its propaganda hit pieces. Something I have proved. It also doesn't cite any source, no informer, no study, no report. Nothing but hot air, in short. There is solid ground to attack the FARC on but it is not me who is trying to do so, it is the author of the article you posted (and yourself, since you insist of posting articles bashing the FARC).
2)Compared to the FARC, the Colombian government (that you seem to defend) of Uribe is much much worse. That doesn't make the actual FARC right. But it is a wonder why the quasi totality of the articles and OPs you do in regards to South America are against leftist movements and in favor of dictatorships or CIA-orchestrated coups.


But since you're asking me to do so, here it is:
"Military intelligence is getting better at finding FARC camps. This is a combination of aerial reconnaissance, electronic eavesdropping and an informant network on the ground. This enables the air force to bomb the camps, quickly followed by ground troops swarming the ruins for more information, and maybe a prisoner or two. The government is getting better at finding these camps"
Says who? What are his sources? Numbers? Anything that could prove what he says is the truth? Who are his informers? Does he have any?

"and FARC has not come up new ideas to keep themselves hidden."
Then how come they still are resisting the mighty Colombian military and its american allies? If they don't know how to hide themselves effectively? In another article, the author also states that they are left to a few thousands fighters at most. How can a few thousand fighters hold it against a modern army, trained by american professionals, a million men strong? If they don't know how to hide or don't have any new ideas? Not to mention that this sounds a lot like "the insurgency is in its last throes", "dem commies are stopid!11!".

"FARC leaders have refused an offer of exile, an offer the government thought would be attractive. The government offered a peace deal that allowed the FARC leaders to go to Europe, or whoever would have them. Actually, some of the FARC leaders are in favor of this option, at least that's what intelligence reveals."
What intelligence? Which report? What deal? Any existing proof or this is straight from his imagination? Where are the links? Who discussed it? With who? He's either inventing stuff (and he has in the past) or simply copying the Colombian Defense Ministry's latest memo. Either way, he has no source, still.

"But most of the FARC leadership (several dozen men) want to stay. These are wealthy men, with millions of dollars overseas, but they are seeing their drug profits threatened by getting tagged as an international terrorist (and drug producing) organization."
Says who? Where are the proofs that they have several millions of dollars overseas? And if true, what bank? This smells like bullshit 'cause, if they were in such disarray, they know that Libya would very possibly welcome them and their mythic millions.

Plus, if their drug profits are overseas and threatened since it is linked to "terrorism", why do they still have them? It's not like they were tagged as terrorists last night.

Where are the proofs that the FARC are producing drugs? Any link? From that article, none. On the web, there is a shitload of mainstream media that says so but very few with any backing. Most quote it from their unnamed intelligence source aka the CIA.

"The FARC leaders have seen how these deals can eventually come apart as victims seek revenge, and get amnesties revoked. "
They would cease to exist as an organization and since they don't have many figureheads left, these guys would simply have to choose carefully their country of exile. I.E: Libya, quite possibly.

"So the FARC brass are trusting in their guns, and opting for fighting to the death. And there's still plenty of money to be made, over $200 million a year for FARC."
Yeah and that makes sense how? Considering they are painting the FARC leaders as opportunistic crime lords, in it for the money? And the Mighty Colombian Military as near total victory? How is this not suicide, then?

And where are the sources for the "200 million a year" figure?

"July 31, 2008: In Europe, police are paying more attention to local FARC agents. In Spain, the chief FARC operative in Spain (who apparently looked after financial matters) was arrested. The Spanish operative belonged to an international charity (an NGO, or non-governmental organization) that actually served to help move FARCs money around. Colombian intelligence has penetrated this overseas FARC network, and is passing names, and crimes, to European police. Colombian intelligence is also letting police in neighboring nations know who FARC operatives are, and what they do. Successful police operations in Colombia are driving the drug trade to neighboring countries, so even Venezuela is arresting drug-related FARC operatives. While Venezuela feels ideologically connected to FARC, no one wants anything to do with the criminal sidelines (cocaine and kidnapping). Colombia always stands ready (with evidence and legal papers) to extradite these FARC minions, and, increasingly, the foreign nations are willing to get rid of these cocaine traffickers. The larger intelligence haul has also brought with it more action from the U.S. Treasury Department, that pursues the international banking and commercial connections of the drug gangs. "
Oh the Powerful FARC Intelligence Network.

*Yawn*

Besides the evident fawning over the Colombian military (always stands ready!), there is the laughable fact that there is zero verifiable case in this excerpt. No names. No dates. No sources, as usual. No links. Plus the classical jab at Venezuela.

"The nations trade surplus surged to $223 million for June, up from $90 million for the same month last year. The many defeats of FARC, and the other drug gangs, over the last six years, are most visible in the economic growth. One of the big problems with sustaining this growth is resettling the three million rural people who became refugees of the fighting against the drug gangs over the last few years. This involves dealing with the landmines that FARC, and other drug gangs, freely plant in territory they control. "
This is the best part. Fucked up in so many ways that I'm not sure how to address it. I'll give it a chance and pretend it's not complete bullshit, based on absolutely nothing.
A)Connecting the nation's TRADE SURPLUS IN A RANDOM MONTH to possible victories over an insurgent group. Ridiculous.
B)Three million refugees fighting DRUG GANGS? Sure... That would be 1/14 of the total colombian population, forced to flee their homes due to DRUG GANGS? Rofl? You do know that drug gangs don't have armies and that they need a market to sell their drugs, right? That they gain nothing by randomly killing large portions of the population? And less by forcing them (3 million people!) to move? That, if this is true, it is an admission that the colombian government waged a real war against drug dealers, that made tons of "collateral" damage, forcing 3 million people to seek shelter somewhere else?
C)Landmines? Ridiculous assertion. Why would a marxist-leaning insurgent group lay tons of landmines? It is planning on managing that land. The Colombian military, OTOH, has been using many landmines, most notably in the ol' "neutral zone".

"The defeats FARC has suffered over the last few years has had consequences for the cocaine business. In short, Colombian cocaine now represents 54 percent of the world supply, versus 90 percent six years ago."
Sources? For the numerous defeats and those numbers?

" In the past six years, over 2.5 million acres of coca have been destroyed, mostly by aerial spraying. The drug gangs have come up with many ways to deal with this, but the most effective technique is to move the coca growing and cocaine production to an adjacent country. "
Yeah 'cause using 2.5 million acres of land to grow coca will quite possibly go unnoticed in other countries, after all. I thought the Colombian Military had marvelous ways to find the FARC's camps and bomb them right away? Leaving one or two prisoners, if anything, among ruins? And they are telling me that the FARC can still make 200M$ a year and escape to neighbouring countries, moving their coca plants with them?

[Zorro]

19. Please allow me to educate you

1. You dispute "Military intelligence is getting better at finding FARC camps". Then it must have been just a lucky guess to hit Reyes' camp in Ecuador, and to miraculously show up where Betancourt and the rest of the hostages have congregated.

2. You dispute "FARC leaders have refused an offer of exile". Well, here's the headline: "Colombian rebel chief vows to fight on", which discusses an interview on Venezuelan tv with a FARC leader where he rejects the offer. You can read it at http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080730/wl_afp/colombiarebelshostagesfarc_080730195638

3. You ask "Where are the proofs that they have several millions of dollars overseas?" You're showing your lack of knowledge of current events; here's the headline: "U.S. Treasury targets more Colombian FARC supporters". You can read it at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/31/AR2008073101652.html

4. You question "In Europe, police are paying more attention to local FARC agents..." Again, you're displaying your lack of current affairs knowledge; since all the FARCies that read the Latin American threads know about this headline: "Spanish police arrest Spain's FARC commander". You can read it at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080726/wl_afp/colombiarebelshostagesspain_080726195102

5. Your apparent belief that FARC is not involved in drug trafficking is too silly. If you truly believe that, then you're either very young, very naive, or the dimmest bulb on the tree.

[Ravachol]

20. You seem to have a serious problem understanding...

the most basic concepts of journalism: quoting your sources. Providing links. Establishing them. I wasn't voicing any position of mine, I was questioning the lack of sources/links of the article you posted.

I was mainly pointing out that, aside from the fact that the author is a right-wing propagandist, he doesn't cite anyone or anything in his articles. No links, no sources, no informers. Nothing but opinion.

I'll respond in kind. You missed some of the points I made it seems so I take it those were valid questions regarding that little piece you shared with us.

1-Your own lack of knowledge shows here. It isn't the first time the FARC has been reportedly infiltrated and that some of the hostages (15 here, I think, if we're speaking of operation Jaque) are liberated by the Colombian military. It also isn't the first time a FARC high ranking commander is killed or captured, Simon Trinidad being a prime example. That doesn't necessarily mean that the "Military intelligence is getting better at finding FARC camps". Just that they have solid leaks/plants right now for a few camps. We'll see if it builds up into a wave of liberation. Considering the Colombian military manpower, if they know where a camp is, they can easily get to it. Like I said, he doesn't provide any number, for example as to how many FARC members have been killed or captured in the past months in comparison with last year.

2-That link doesn't talk about a fresh new "deal" considering the possible exile of FARC members. It quotes Marquez's reaction to the POSSIBILITY of moving to France, of exiling himself there. Thing is, France has been proposing that for a good many years now. It has been renewed but offering exile and getting an exile deal done are two entirely different things. Moreover, it is his job as a journalist to point out to what deal he is speaking of.

Plus, it was the second part that was interesting to me. Exile offers were always up in the air. This is the part that I was mostly reacting to:
"Actually, some of the FARC leaders are in favor of this option, at least that's what intelligence reveals."
Hence my question: who are these leaders? How many is there? What intelligence? Which report? No answer.

3-The U.S is "overseas" if you're in Colombia?!?! Plus, it doesn't speak of their assets, nor of their leadership. It names a few individuals and a few companies it "maintains" are front companies for the narcotraffic. Are you trying to imply that the FARC leaders would have invested its money in the f'ing USA?! The article was claiming that being labeled as a terrorist organization would seriously impede their funding and their leaders current assets abroad. It fails to prove such a thing. And your own added link doesn't do that either.

4-I had missed it, it seems. It is one case then. Still, it is his job to point out who he's talking about, at least to name her. Also, from what I've read since you mentionned her, there is nothing that specifically links her NGO was "moving the FARC money around". It seems she rather used it as a way to cover her own activities: travelling abroad a lot, for example. Plus, his article is worded in such a way that it looks like the Colombian military/intelligence community had been sitting on its hands with tons of info on the FARC operatives in other countries and they just decided to finally act up.

5-I didn't say that. I said there were a lot of assertions in the mainstream media about FARC's traffic but that there isn't a lot of evidence. Have you ever been close to a coca plant? Have you ever studied it? It's hard to go unnoticed with coca plants in your backyard. I'M not saying the FARC has renounced to all drugs. I'm saying they simply can't be massive narcotraffickers and the insurgency in its last throes as the article claims. You can't have it both ways. You need millions of acres of land to develop enough coca for a billion worth (200 M$ profits). It would easily be spotted by the Colombian military and burned down.

[ohio2007]

16. Colombian army rescues five kidnapped oil workers

snip

Coronado said Saturday’s commando operation rescuing the five was bloodless.

Meanwhile, the army Friday rescued Venezuelan businessman Edgar Torres Mendoza, kidnapped July 27 by the ELN in the same province.

The army troops attacked a camp of the rebels where the businessman was being held and rescued him.

In the gunfight the army wounded and captured a guerrilla, the military said.

The ELN is Colombia’s second-largest guerrilla army after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.


http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/colombian-army-rescues-five-kidnapped-oil-workers_10079335.html