Betancourt Unbound - Off the Script in Colombia

[ensho]

http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney07142008.html


It was a perfectly executed rescue mission and they pulled it off without a hitch. A small group of Colombian military-intelligence agents, posing as aid workers on a humanitarian mission, touched-down in the heart of rebel territory, gathered up Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, and whisked them away to safety while a small army of rifle-toting Marxist guerrillas looked on dumbfounded. The tale of the daring rescue by Colombia's finest was immediately splashed across the front pages of newspapers around the world. Finally, the Bush-Uribe combo could point to a decisive victory in the seven year-long war on terror. Score one for the good guys in the ongoing struggle against the forces of evil.

There's just one problem; the story isn't true.

-snip-

On Friday, the FARC Secretariat issued a formal statement on their Bolivarian Press Agency website saying that they were betrayed by two members of their organization:

"The escape of the 15 prisoners on July 2 was a direct consequence of the despicable conduct of Cesar and Enrique, who betrayed their revolutionary ideals and the trust we had put in them."

Of course, none of the western media reported the statement because it casts doubt the Colombian government's version of the 100% scripted, Rambo-like rescue and calls into question the premature pronouncements of triumph in the war on terror. But it's clear that the official story has begun to unravel and will require some serious PR airbrushing to keep from falling apart altogether. It's looking more and more like the whole farce was concocted by Uribe to build public support for changing Colombia's constitution so he can run for a third term as president. So far, it's worked like a charm; Uribe's public approval ratings have soared to nearly 80%.

-snip-

To her credit, Betancourt has blasted the Uribe government saying, "That's the difference between me and Uribe. For Uribe, the end of the FARC means the reestablishment of peace in Colombia. For me, peace in Colombia will come from social transformations." (There's still a chance that Betancourt will return to Colombia and run for president. She has dual French-Colombian citizenship)

She also praised Hugo Chavez who worked tirelessly to secure her release in an earlier prisoner swap that was scotched by the Bush administration. Bush and Co. believed the exchange would boost Chavez's popularity, so Uribe made sure the deal wasn't consummated. Betancourt said, "It seems to me that Hugo Chávez is magnificent. He can tell the FARC things that they will hear. The FARC didn't like it at all when Chávez told them that the armed struggle in Latin American was obsolete, and that they had to think in a different way." Naturally, Betancourt's remarks about Chavez were not reported in the establishment media.

-snip-

Colombia is America's last right-wing outpost in the hemisphere. There's a good chance that it will be swept along by the leftist current that has overtaken most of Latin America already. Perhaps Betancourt's role is simply to open the floodgates and let the tide rush in.
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[WhiteTara]

1. I think I want to move

to Venezuela. Must learn Spanish

[hootinholler]

2. The CIA is gonna be pissed about the loss of the income stream.

Should Columbia ever get into the hands of the people.

-Hoot