Good News From Columbia

[Annie]

Even if Congress refuses to help them:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7407666.stm

Leading Farc commander surrenders

A leading commander of the Farc rebels in Colombia has surrendered to the authorities, officials say.

Nelly Avila Moreno, known as Karina, was blamed for a string of murders and abductions, and for extortion in the north-western Antioquia region.

Her surrender is a coup for President Alvaro Uribe who made her a priority target for the security forces in 2002, the BBC's Jeremy McDermott says.

Farc has been fighting to overthrow the government for more than 40 years.

Karina was "nearly dying of hunger" when she and another guerrilla, known as Michin, handed themselves in, Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said.

"We have been after this woman who did such damage to Antioquia and the whole region of Uraba for a long time," Mr Santos told RCN Radio.

...

Her immediate boss Ivan Rios, a member of the Farc ruling seven-man secretariat, was murdered in March by one of his bodyguards.

The bodyguard chopped off Rios's hand in order to prove to the authorities he had killed the commander and so collected a reward in excess of $1m.

Since then, Karina has been in sole command of the Farc division in Antioquia.

...

 

[TheGoodShepherd]

Even if Congress refuses to help them:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7407666.stm

Columbia's President Uribe used to be a very close friend of Pablo Escobar.

In fact when Uribe was mayor of Medellin. He rubber stamped the construction of airports Escobar's cartel used to smuggle drugs out of Columbia and into the U.S.

Anyways, Columbia is one screwed up country.

 

[cbi0090]

All of Colombia's elite could be said to be "good friends" even those who come in from the outside like Escobar. This is because they hold economy so close to the chests and in so few hands that they can't help but mingle and trip over each other. That doesn't mean they are friends. Uribe is the first to truly break away from the status quo and take on certain elements that have been so long entrenched in their country they have nearly become a part of their culture. He has tread a very dangerous path, motivated by the death of his father, that could be considered extreme to the point of recklessness, by his detractors, but has been necessary, by those who know the situation. He a liberator and deserves our support.

 

[TheGoodShepherd]

All of Colombia's elite could be said to be "good friends" even those who come in from the outside like Escobar. This is because they hold economy so close to the chests and in so few hands that they can't help but mingle and trip over each other. That doesn't mean they are friends. Uribe is the first to truly break away from the status quo and take on certain elements that have been so long entrenched in their country they have nearly become a part of their culture. He has tread a very dangerous path, motivated by the death of his father, that could be considered extreme to the point of recklessness, by his detractors, but has been necessary, by those who know the situation. He a liberator and deserves our support.

"He may be a bastard, but he is our bastard!"

 

[Annie]

How many ways are there to spell idiot? Case point.

 

[cbi0090]

"He may be a bastard, but he is our bastard!"

The Colombian people don't think so and they are the ones to know and appreciate what he's doing and, ultimately, the ones who count>

 

[TheGoodShepherd]

The Colombian people don't think so and they are the ones to know and appreciate what he's doing and, ultimately, the ones who count>

And how many Columbians turned out for the elections?

I believe I read 45 per cent and Uribe himself got 62 per cent of the vote.

Which roughly means only 28 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in favor of the president. All this amid, a promise not to disrupt elections by guerrilla organizations.

Hardly the will of the people.

Uribe may or may not be worse than his enemies.

But he is no doubt a Latin strongman with a questionable history.

You think an American President with so much as a whisper of ties to a New York city Crime lord would ever get elected in the United States?

I don't think so.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

And how many Columbians turned out for the elections?

I believe I read 45 per cent and Uribe himself got 62 per cent of the vote.

Which roughly means only 28 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in favor of the president. All this amid, a promise not to disrupt elections by guerrilla organizations.

Hardly the will of the people.

Uribe may or may not be worse than his enemies.

But he is no doubt a Latin strongman with a questionable history.

You think an American President with so much as a whisper of ties to a New York city Crime lord would ever get elected in the United States?

I don't think so.

John Kennedy Got elected didn't he? Hillary Clinton is not out of the race yet is she?

 

[Gunny]

And how many Columbians turned out for the elections?

I believe I read 45 per cent and Uribe himself got 62 per cent of the vote.

Which roughly means only 28 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in favor of the president. All this amid, a promise not to disrupt elections by guerrilla organizations.

Hardly the will of the people.

Uribe may or may not be worse than his enemies.

But he is no doubt a Latin strongman with a questionable history.

You think an American President with so much as a whisper of ties to a New York city Crime lord would ever get elected in the United States?

I don't think so.

How's John F Kennedy sound to you?

 

[cbi0090]

And how many Columbians turned out for the elections?

I believe I read 45 per cent and Uribe himself got 62 per cent of the vote.

Which roughly means only 28 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in favor of the president. All this amid, a promise not to disrupt elections by guerrilla organizations.

Hardly the will of the people.

Uribe may or may not be worse than his enemies.

But he is no doubt a Latin strongman with a questionable history.

You think an American President with so much as a whisper of ties to a New York city Crime lord would ever get elected in the United States?

I don't think so.

Of course he's a strong Man!! Who else could do what he's doing? This is not a mamby pamby thing he's doing. He's not playing in a PC environment where he has to tip toe around peoples childish feelings. He's fighting an internal war against a large group of souless thugs that make the mafia look like kindergarten bullies. And it isn't just one group he's had to contend with.

He's also had to deal with a right winged organization who was just as ruthless, a political body where corruption is just "business as usual", and an ego maniac in a next door country who harbors these criminals and is spending his countries oil wealth like a drunken sailor to buy votes, favors, alliances from everyone in the region.

The FARC is not a political party nor a people's movement. They are organized criminals funded by drug money and kidnapping and powered by terrorist activities. You wonder why the percentage of voters is not higher? When is the last time you voted with someone standing outside your booth with an AK-47? There are still too many scared to vote. Colombia is in a fight for their life.

I don't care who pulls me out of a fire. The fact that he did is all that matters. I don't care if he was once a thug, a momma's boy, Democrat, Republican, gay, or martian. What's he's doing now is what has been needed for years and for that I'm grateful.

 

[Annie]

And more good news:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080524/wl_nm/colombia_farc_dc

Colombian government says top FARC commander dead

1 hour, 9 minutes ago

Colombia said on Saturday the top commander of the FARC rebel group Manuel Marulanda, known as "Sureshot," was dead.

Navy Admiral David Moreno made the announcement to reporters. Rumors about the aging rebel's death or serious illness had surfaced before, but had never been confirmed. Marulanda organized the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in the 1960s as a left-wing insurgency.

 

[Annie]

and even more good news in perspective:

http://faustasblog.com/2008/05/colombias-big-news-tirofijo-farc-leader.html

Saturday, May 24, 2008
Colombia's big news: "Tirofijo" FARC leader 'dead' says military

FARC leader 'dead' says military

The leader of Colombia's largest rebel group, the Farc, has died, the military has claimed in a statement.

A national news magazine had earlier reported the death of Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda on 26 March, citing the defence minister, Juan Manuel Santos.

There has been no confirmation from guerrilla sources. The top rebel commander's death has been rumoured and disproved several times in the past.

But correspondents say the death would be a big blow to the Farc if confirmed.

The cause of death sounds like one of Ace's headlines: the Colombians say that three bombing raids had targeted the area where Mr Marulanda was believed to have been staying, while the FARC (unofficialy) say it was a heart attack. As Ace would put it, "Tirofijo dead of heart attack, or raid, but mostly raid". Either way, Tirofijo's dead.

Chavez is not going to sleep well tonight. He's been in bed with the FARC for a long time, and the FARC is now under siege. The Colombian government is fighting a winning battle against the FARC. The death of the head of the FARC is a huge blow to Hugo's Communist buddies. The CNN article reminds us

Established as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party in 1964, FARC is Colombia's oldest, largest and best-equipped Marxist rebel group, according to the U.S. Department of State.

The Economist has a good summary of Chavez's involvement with the FARC (regular readers of this blog know this, but here it is for review)
The FARC files: Just how much help has Hugo Chavez given to Colombia's guerrillas?

Batches of the documents have been seen by The Economist and several other publications. They appear to show that Mr Chavez offered the FARC up to $300m, and talked of allocating the guerrillas an oil ration which they could sell for profit. They also suggest that Venezuelan army officers helped the FARC to obtain small arms, such as rocket-propelled grenades, and to set up meetings with arms dealers....