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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Captured laptops detail FARC's international support |
| 2008-10-03 |
| BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- Email messages linking the Colombian Marxist guerilla insurgency (known by its Spanish acronym, FARC) to politicians, union activists and left-wing parties overseas have revealed a network of supporters spanning several continents, and have kept tensions high between Colombia and some of its neighbors. "The FARC have been less isolated than originally believed, and have wide-ranging political contacts throughout Latin America and elsewhere," Michael Shifter, an analyst with Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Dialogue, wrote by email. While Shifter called the relationships "isolated," he said "the support network did give the FARC a sense that they were seen as legitimate by some in the international community, which in turn contributed to their self-understanding as political actors." Most of the information comes from laptop computers, external hard drives and flash drives reportedly recovered from a FARC campground located in Ecuador that the Colombians bombed and then searched in March. The attack killed Raul Reyes, the guerrillas' second in command, who acted as the group's foreign minister. Among our contestants... James Jones, an American academic and aid consultant who has studied Colombia for decades, maintained a friendly correspondence with FARC leaders, advising them on how to obtain international recognition and "internationalize" their cause. Jones also reported to FARC leaders on his meeting with U.S. Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) about Colombia. Both Jones and McGovern's office have said they were only seeking a way to free rebel hostages and resolve Colombia's long conflict. In an email statement, Jones said he had a "cordial" relationship with the FARC, but that he did not ". . . approve of the way the FARC too often disregard the welfare of the civilian population. And I certainly don't condone hostage-taking." He argued that in order to end the civil war, the guerrillas should not be isolated, and that the trust he had developed with them was what drove Uribe administration to target him. Interesting article. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #1 "Uh, we were conducting an investigation of this brothel, and were shocked, shocked!, to see that acts of prostitution were being conducted here." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-10-03 16:03 |