For those who have been following the developments in Columbia in regards to the FARC, it turns out that the captured documents that mentioned many names and countries of interest, have been verified by Interpol as being legit:
The onus is now on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to explain evidence of his apparently intimate ties to Colombia’s main guerrilla army.
Interpol on Thursday endorsed the authenticity of computer files seized in a rebel camp, announcing that Colombia did not tamper with documents indicating Chavez sought to finance and arm the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
Venezuelan officials set up contacts with Australian arms dealers and arranged for missile training in the Middle East, according to the documents, which were on computer hard drives seized by Colombia and obtained by the Washington Post. [Fox News via Michelle Malkin]
This is important development because keep in mind that Hugo Chavez has an oil for arms deal with North Korea. Since the documents are legit could the arms being smuggled to the FARC terrorists be from North Korea? If so how would that effect the State Department’s attempts to remove North Korea from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list? It wouldn’t be the first time North Korea has been caught arming terrorist groups with them caught exporting arms to the Al Qaeda linked Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines.
Also keep in mind that the US Democratic controlled Congress refuses to ratify a free trade agreement with Columbia. If a pro-American country under assault by a terrorist group equipped and trained by America’s enemies cannot get a free trade agreement signed, what hope does South Korea have of getting one signed either?
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12:17 pm on May 21st, 2008 1
Because of the way Venezuela goes about suppling FARC, I think that it has little impact on the State Department’s list of terrorist supporting nations. From what I understand, Venezuela places it’s arms orders for itself along with a few containers that it will send on to FARC. But that since it’s all going to Venezuela first, I think they end up taking the responsibility as far as the State Department is concerned.
And it’s going to get worse since pretty soon Venezuela may be suppling FARC with domestically produced weapons. With plans to start producing kalishnikovs from the first South American factory, I’m sure a number of these will be making their way to the rebel groups. That combined with Venezuela’s military defense spending increases, currently between 4-5 billion a year up from 70 million just a few years ago. Chavez will be able to give FARC rebels quite a bit in terms of military equipment if he so chooses.
Of course we could all hope that FARC ceases to be relevant, since some of the most recent reports suggest that the recent killings of a couple of it’s leaders plus it’s decentralized nature have put a big hurt on the rebel group. I’m not holding my breath though.
2:04 pm on May 21st, 2008 2
Personally I think the US government is turning a blind eye to designating Hugo Chavez a state sponsor of terrorism because of his oil imports into America. If Venezuela is put on the list US oil prices will rise because the US would have to purchase oil somewhere else which would mean greater transport fees compared to buying oil across the Gulf of Mexico from Venezeula.
Just another reason why I believe the US needs to a new energy policy to address our dependence on foreign oil.
Your comments about the recent FARC losses are spot on. I just read in the paper today that one of their commanders in the northwest gave herself up because she feared her own men would kill her to collect the government bounty put on her.
Uribe and the Columbian military have done an excellent job against the FARC but as long as they continue to be funded and armed through drugs and outside states they will continue to be a problem for Columbia.
2:58 pm on May 21st, 2008 3
Oh, I agree completely about the US turning a blind eye with regards to Venezuela and terrorism. It’s even more ridiculous when one considers that recently the US called Chavez’s bluff on cutting oil exports to the US. Chavez really can’t because the of the nature of Venezuelan crude. Few refineries can process it and the closest and most advantageous ones are in the US. So, he can’t cut exports without hurting himself.
I think the US’s handling of Chavez has just been indicative of a larger problem that has existed for a while. Piece by piece, the world has witnessed one South and Central American country after another fall prey(albeit, by democratic elections) to extremist leftist regimes. Throughout this decade, the US has hardly batted an eyelash as it’s backyard becomes populated by governments with a great deal of animosity
toward it. Reagan is probably rolling over in his grave.
I’d like to see the US put Chavez in his place, maybe not militarily. But something needs to be done just to make the idiot go away before more South Americans really start believing his BS and think he’s Bolivar reincarnated. Of course, nothing will be done until the administration actually develops a South American foreign policy instead of just ignoring it. Maybe truly allowing Chavez to assume Castro’s mantle is the way to go. He can inherit the embargo that goes with it.
7:28 pm on May 21st, 2008 4
9:07 pm on May 27th, 2008 5
[...] Obama has just confirmed what I said before, if Columbia a strong US ally that has been successfully fighting a guerrilla war against a [...]