Spain Probes ETA-FARC Connection

March 2, 2010

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a message to Venezuela on Tuesday, demanding an explanation from the government for its alleged support of an alliance between Basque separatist group ETA and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).  

On Monday, Spanish High Court Judge Eloy Velasco accused Venezuela of helping the two groups plot attacks on Spanish soil and issued international arrest warrants for six alleged ETA members and seven Colombians thought to be members of the FARC.  The Venezuelan government facilitated communication between the two groups, the Court found, leading to the FARC asking ETA for help coordinating an assassination of Colombian officials visiting Spain, including Colombian president Álvaro Uribe.
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Velasco’s 26-page report outlines the contacts ETA is believed to have in Venezuela, and says the groups also collaborated on an assassination plot of former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana in 2000.

A statement from the Venezuelan government said the accusations were politically motivated.  At a press conference in Germany, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the Spanish government awaited an explanation from Venezuela before pursuing any further action. 

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Colombia’s Indigenous Peoples Face Growing Abuse

February 24, 2010

Ongoing conflict and lack of state support threaten Colombia’s 1.4 million indigenous people, who face killings, sexual abuse, recruitment as child soldiers and the persecution of their leaders, according to a new report released Monday by the international human rights organization Amnesty International. The group is urging the Colombian government to adopt firmer measures to guarantee indigenous rights.

The release of the report follows Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) attacks on three communities in Southeastern Colombia this past weekend. 

Colombia’s Interior Minister Fabio Valencia Cossio, who assumed presidential duties while President Álvaro Uribe attended the Rio Group Summit this week, released a communiqué on Tuesday saying that the Amnesty report is too harsh. He contends that the group has failed to recognize the government’s achievements on indigenous rights, which were praised by the United Nations in July. The communiqué also says the cultivation of illicit drugs is a primary reason for the displacement of indigenous communities.

While indigenous people make up only 3.4 percent of Colombia’s population, they constitute 7 percent of the country’s displaced people, according to Amnesty International.

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Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

February 17, 2010

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

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Haiti Reconstruction Costs Higher than Anticipated

A new Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study estimates that Haiti’s reconstruction could cost as much as $14 billion, far higher than earlier forecasts of $5 billion. The IDB study thus predicts Haiti’s earthquake will be costlier than the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Canada to Build Temporary HQs for Haitian Government

Following a visit to Haiti this week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that his country will construct temporary Haitian government headquarters in Port-au-Prince after last month’s earthquake destroyed the government’s buildings. The provisional headquarters will cost $11.5 million.

Young and Jobless in Latin America

A recent report released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) shows that at least 600,000 young Latin Americans were unemployed in 2009, making them “hardest hit” by the global financial crisis, reports the Latin Americanist blog. The ILO report also showed that, of the 104 million youth in Latin America, only 34 percent attend school, only 33 percent work, and just 13 percent do both.

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Paraguay Arrests Member of Armed Insurgent Group

February 1, 2010

Paraguayan officials have arrested a man accused of participating in acts perpetrated by the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP)—an armed group that officials say has ties to Colombia’s Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). José Villalba was taken into custody in Concepción (a city near the Brazilian border) during an operation by the national police and armed forces. He is the brother of the man believed to be the EPP’s principal leader.

Mr. Villalba is the 10th person to be arrested in recent weeks in connection to the kidnapping of Fidel Zavada, a prominent rancher who was allegedly held by the EPP for 94 days before being released for a $550,000 ransom.

Officials say that the EPP is a splinter group of the Free Motherland Party (PPL), which was involved in the 2005 kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of a former Paraguayan president. Up to a dozen individuals who are also suspected of being members of the group have been spotted in remote jungle areas near the site of Villalba’s arrest. Officials say they are carefully monitoring the group’s movements and are likely to make more arrests soon.

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Army Detains FARC Member Accused of Governor’s Murder

January 7, 2010

Colombian authorities announced yesterday the capture of Henry López Sarmiento, the accused mastermind behind the December 21, 2009, kidnapping and murder of Caquetá Governor Luis Francisco Cuéllar. Sarmiento, a member of the Teófilo Forero front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was arrested while visiting family in Medellín.

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La irresuelta crisis de Angostura complica las relaciones entre Ecuador y Colombia

December 3, 2009

Veinte (20) meses después de que aviones colombianos bombardearan la frontera con Ecuador—lo que dio al traste con las relaciones diplomáticas entre ambos países andinos—una serie de nombramientos y acciones que pretenden recomponer el diálogo, sigue sin resolver el eje sustancial de la disputa en la que se acusa a Colombia de haber violado la soberanía y la integralidad territorial ecuatorianas, tras la incursión militar en Angostura que terminó en la muerte de 26 personas entre ellas el número 2 de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Raúl Reyes.

Desde que a fines de septiembre se trazó en Nueva York la "hoja de ruta" en la que los cancilleres Fander Falconí de Ecuador, y Jaime Bermúdez de Colombia se comprometieron a dar pasos para recomponer las relaciones, se reintegraron las comisiones de negocios, se reactivó la Comisión Binacional de Asuntos Fronterizos (COMBIFRON) y se prometió nombrar agregados militares antes del 11 de diciembre para combatir la inseguridad y el narcotráfico en la conflictiva frontera común de 586 kilómetros.

La designación de embajadores y una eventual reunión entre los presidentes Álvaro Uribe de Colombia y Rafael Correa de Ecuador, no obstante, quedan todavía en el manual de buenas intenciones. Y es que a pesar del impulso de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA) y el Centro Carter en la conformación de un Comité que trate los “temas sensibles”, éstos alcanzaron incluso las cortes internacionales: Colombia enfrenta una demanda ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) por la muerte del ecuatoriano Franklin Aisalla durante el bombardeo. La Corte Internacional de Justicia (CIJ) fijó el 29 de marzo de 2010 como plazo final para que Colombia responda a la acusación de Quito sobre los efectos nocivos de las fumigaciones en la frontera. Cómo si fuera poco el ex ministro de defensa Juan Manuel Santos y el general Freddy Padilla fueron vinculados por un Juez de Sucumbíos como autores intelectuales del bombardeo de Angostura. Aunque las peticiones de extradición y orden de captura contra ambos funcionarios fueron revocadas, aún se esperan que se notifiquen ante el consulado ecuatoriano en Colombia.

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Colombia and Ecuador Take Important Step Toward Resuming Full Diplomatic Relations

November 13, 2009

The foreign ministries of Colombia and Ecuador officially named charges d’affaires at their respective embassies in Quito and Bogotá today. Ecuador appointed Andrés Terán, current ambassador to Uruguay, and Colombia appointed Ricardo Montenegro, current Director of the Office for Territorial Sovereignty and Frontier Development, to serve in the diplomatic posts. 

The announcement establishes the highest-level diplomatic ties between the two countries since President Rafael Correa suspended relations in March 2008. That decision came as response to a Colombian military operation that had entered Ecuadorian territory in pursuit of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

Foreign Ministers Jaime Bermúdez of Colombia and Fander Falconí of Ecuador have worked steadily in recent months to improve bilateral relations, following statements in September by President Correa that he was ready to nurture a thaw in bilateral relations. The announcement fulfills pledges made by both governments on November 3 that the mutual appointments would occur within 15 days.

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Colombia Discloses Knowledge of New FARC Camps on Ecuadorian Territory

October 6, 2009

Colombia’s Minister of Defense, Gabriel Silva, announced on Tuesday that he is preparing to present evidence of new FARC camps in Ecuador to his counterpart, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce.

This most recent disclosure comes amidst a recent thaw in Colombian-Ecuadorian relations more than a year and a half after the countries broke off diplomatic ties following a Colombian incursion into Ecuador during a combat mission against FARC forces in March 2008.

Mr. Silva indicated that Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe has requested the full disclosure of Colombian intelligence on the alleged camps. As a sign of the delicate diplomatic negotiations currently under way, he also insisted that, “The Colombian government has never said it has suspicions of links between the government of Ecuador and the FARC.”

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Desde Bogotá. Los alcances de la revolución bolivariana en Colombia

October 5, 2009

Intervencionismo o mediación. Según el espejo con que se mire, el papel del Presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez en la política doméstica colombiana, tiene tantos detractores y seguidores como en su propio país.

Su cercanía con las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)—que según los computadores del extinto Raúl Reyes y miembros de la inteligencia colombiana incluye financiamiento y tráfico de armas para la guerrilla—ha causado que mientras Estados Unidos lo considera una figura desestabilizadora para la región, el gobierno colombiano de Álvaro Uribe haya tenido que aceptar a regañadientes sus buenos oficios para dialogar con el grupo insurgente y así lograr liberaciones de secuestrados.

No obstante, la necesidad de mantener relaciones diplomáticas con un vecino con el que se comercian más de 7.000 millones de dólares anuales y con el que se comparten 2.219 kilómetros (1,379 millas) de frontera—límites ,en donde dicho sea de paso, es innegable la presencia de grupos armados ilegales, contrabandistas, narcotraficantes y miles de refugiados expulsados por el conflicto—se ha dejado de priorizar recientemente por las atrevidas declaraciones de Chávez en lo que a la política nacional se refiere.

Luego de llamar a los colombianos “traidores” e invitarlos a sumarse a la “doctrina bolivariana”, Chávez fue denunciado ante la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA) por su “intervencionismo” e “injerencia” en asuntos internos. Sus declaraciones motivadas por el convenio firmado entre Estados Unidos y Colombia para la instalación de siete bases militares en el país, impulsaron a cuatro ciudadanos a convocar por las redes sociales Facebook y Twitter a una marcha contra el mandatario que finalmente se desarrolló en más de 100 ciudades del mundo con miles de participantes vestidos de blanco que gritaban al unísono "Chávez, Colombia no te teme" y "¿Por qué no te callas?".

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Ecuador and Colombia Begin to Mend Diplomatic Ties

September 23, 2009

After a year and a half of severed diplomatic ties, the foreign ministers of Ecuador and Colombia met last night in New York to begin talks about restoring relations.

Fander Falconí, Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs, said the discussions “have begun a process…and we aspire to achieve what our countries desire. Our countries have [peaceful intentions], and this is the message that we want to project.” Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez also expressed a desire for “a normalization of relations.”

The demise of relations between Ecuador and Colombia began March 3, 2008, after the Colombian army crossed the Ecuadorian border in pursuit of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in Ecuadorian territory. The raid left 25 dead including the head guerrilla leader “Raúl Reyes.”

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Hugo Chávez and FARC Weapons: Magician's Secrets Revealed

August 5, 2009

Magicians, tricksters and clowns have employed illusions created by the sleight of hand for generations. Some of the recent developments out of Venezuela seem to validate that President Hugo Chávez has mastered this time-honored tradition.

I was reminded of the parallel while recently walking by a shell game on the street. The fellow was using cheap plastic cups and a ball made of waded tape to draw an audience who were all captivated by the fast moving hands and cups. A stack of dollar bills was on the small folding card table, so this man was certainly winning more than losing. President Chávez, like this street magician, has managed to divert attention from growing domestic troubles through his recent, inflammatory rhetoric aimed at Colombia.

As has been widely reported, the Venezuelan president again recalled his ambassador to Colombia last week—this time in response to Colombia’s announcement that they found three Venezuelan anti-tank weapons in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the terrorist group fighting against the Colombian government.

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Vargas Launches his Bid for Colombia's Presidency

July 3, 2009

A new hopeful has joined the presidential race in Colombia. Germán Vargas, 47, the former leader of the center-right Radical Change party last week officially launched his long expected bid to become Colombia’s next president in 2010.

A lawyer, veteran political mover and shaker and former senator, Vargas has stood faithfully by President Álvaro Uribe over the years. He led a successful coalition that helped bring Uribe first to power in 2002, and then backed his reelection. But this time around, Vargas won’t be supporting a possible third Uribe reelection.

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Colombian Reporter Jenny Manrique Gives a Voice to Victims of Political Violence

April 3, 2009

The folding of several important newspapers throughout the U.S. has caused many to lament the “end of journalism” as we know it, and has left many would-be journalists to pursue other career paths. Jenny Manrique is not one of those would-be journalists. Her fearless, investigative reporting on topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder among political refugees and Boston’s asylum-seeking Colombian community has attached faces and names to the often-forgotten victims of political violence in her native Colombia and elsewhere in the region.

Manrique, 28, is the 2008-2009 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow, an award established by the International Women’s Media Foundation given to one woman each year to focus “exclusively on human rights journalism and social justice issues.” The recipient of the award, which was founded in honor of a Boston Globe reporter who died in Iraq in 2003, spends nine months as a research associate in residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for International Studies and interns both at the Boston Globe and The New York Times.

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FARC Releases Hostages

February 11, 2009

Colombians were glued to their television sets last week as six hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas were freed in three separate missions. Big TV screens were assembled in Colombia’s main squares, while relatives holding white daisies gathered at local airports to greet those returning from the jungle after more than seven years in captivity. People shed tears as they watched emotional encounters between families finally reunited.

Following the recent hostage releases, there are no politicians being held captive by the FARC today. For many this marks a shift in the FARC’s strategy and a glimmer of hope for possible peace talks between the government and the guerrillas. Since 1999, the FARC has captured senators, ministers and lawmakers and used them as bargaining chips to push for the exchange of hostages for imprisoned guerrillas.

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