[lbo-talk] New military offensive in Colombia

[Michael McIntyre]

Colombia has, sadly, been only marginally on my radar screen since  
2001, but this article in Le Monde today does not augur well.  (The  
translation is mine; apologies in advance for any infelicities).  A  
little background: Alvaro Uribe's links to the paramilitaries, long  
obvious to anyone who cared to know, have recently been reported in  
venues that long wished not to know.  (Juan Forero, the NYT reporter  
there, was virtually a mouthpiece for Uribe).  Faced with a crisis of  
legitimacy at home, he's now threatening his own "surge" against the  
guerrillas, especially the FARC.

Colombia Announces a New Offensive against the FARC
February 22, 2007
Le Monde with AFP and Reuters

Colombian president Alvaro Uribe announced Thursday, February 22, the  
beginning of a new offensive against "the FARC bandits" after the  
failure of a meeting between a government mediator and guerrilla  
representatives on a humanitarian agreement to free hostages.

"The government's reaction is as following," explained Mr. Uribe,  
"faced with these bandits who menace us every day, we must redouble  
our efforts." The guerrillas, according to the president, told the  
mediator that they would not negotiate with an illegitimate  
government tied to far-right paramilitary militas. The FARC's  
international spokesperson, Raul Reyes, as quoted by the Colombian  
daily El Espectador, added that no humanitarian agreement would be  
possible as long as the municipalities of Florida and Pradera in the  
west of the country are occupied by the Colombian army.

The FARC is calling for the liberation of five hundred of their men  
held by the government in exchange for fifty-seven hostages,  
political and military, including three Americans and the Franco- 
Colombian, Ingrid Betancourt, former Green candidate for the  
Colombian presidency.

Michael McIntyre
mcintyremichael at mac.com

http://morbidsymptoms.blogspot.com

(PS - If you haven't seen the blog recently, come by and take a  
look.  It now features much more frequently updated content and a  
news feed that I update a few times a day).