Colombia military in bomb scandal

[Judi Lynn]

Since we didn't have a Latin America forum when this article was published, and I saw it at that time, I wanted to make sure it got entered in this forum so all the posters here who keep a watch on Latin American events would be sure to see it if they haven't already. I ran across it late tonight when I needed to use it for a post for a visiting freep. There's every chance you already know about it, or similar stories, but I needed to share it, anyway, before I cut it loose.

Last Updated: Monday, 11 September 2006, 09:42 GMT 10:42 UK

Colombia military in bomb scandal
By Jeremy McDermott
BBC News, Medellin

Army officers in Colombia have been accused of placing car bombs around the capital in the latest military scandal to hit the country.
The officers hoped to claim reward money from the government's informants programme for discovering the bombs.

President Alvaro Uribe made a televised address to the nation urging Colombians to keep faith in the security forces, amid a growing crisis in confidence.

He has made the strengthening of the military his government's cornerstone.

Such is the crisis in confidence in the military that President Uribe decided that he had to show his face to the nation and reassure Colombians that his military, backed by Washington, was not spinning out of control.

'Isolated incidents'

In the latest scandal, army officers are accused of placing car bombs around Bogota, including one that went off wounding more than a dozen soldiers and killing a civilian.

The motivation was to claim reward money from the government, which offers payments of up to $400,000 (£220,000) for information on the activities of Marxist rebels and drugs traffickers.

In another incident, 10 policemen were killed by the army in what was presented as a friendly fire tragedy.

However, evidence has shown that they were killed at point-blank range.

Several soldiers, including a colonel, have been arrested and accused of murdering the policemen on the orders of a notorious drug baron.

Mr Uribe insisted that these scandals are isolated incidents and that things are getting better.

But evidence now suggests that the military are contributing to the violence, not just fighting it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5333980.stm

[roody]

1. Two weeks ago in Colombia I saw this tv ad:

A car is stuck in the mud. A group of soldiers, helmets and all, pushes the car out of the mud. Two white kids wave out the back window as the car drives away. The logo says, "Yes, heroes still exist."

[Judi Lynn]

2. That's so much different from incidents I've heard about in which the Colombian military

assists either directly, or indirectly, by surrounding a town and preventing incoming or outgoing traffic, while the paras conduct a bloody massacre.

They really wouldn't get many admiring nods with commercials featuring their practise of kiling civilians, then putting grenades or guns in their hands and identifying them as FARC, in the heartless operation known outside Colombia as "false positives."

Would it be a surprise if we learned the commercial you mention was conceived by the Mark Penn agency (one of 5 U.S. agencies Uribe employs) in New York? Yikes!

[roody]

3. Here is a link.

Overwhelmingly white actors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPk7VawnDYQ&feature=PlayList&p=73F663F8793128FA&index=28&playnext=3&playnext_from=PL

[Judi Lynn]

4. That's really creepy. I'll bet an American company produced that very wierd series of commercials.

I couldn't find anything on who did it. I have primitive search abilities, I'm afraid.

Here's a look at Mark Penn from Sourcewatch:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mark_Penn

There's no doubt his, or one like his firm did this. Those commercials REALLY suck. I hope no one in Colombia bought any part of them. They'd have to be braindead.

[Bacchus39]

5. ????? if you say so. n/t

s

[Vidar]

6. So the US solution is to give more bombs to the gang that can't shoot straight. Brilliant!