And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Via Activist Mailing List - http://get.to/activist like i said, they're getting us ready for military action in Colombia. there has been a noticeable initiated campaign of bad PR for this nation. it is interesting that it is the US supported government that continues to supply us with cocaine and with a sizable rebel force that is growing, it is no surprise that the US considers Colombia a risk factor to be controlled, as in controlled substance. ----Original Message Follows---- From: Dennis Grammenos <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: U.S. Warns Against Travel To Colombia Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 17:52:34 -0500 (CDT) Friday, 11 June 1999 U.S. Warns Against Travel To Colombia ------------------------------------- By Tom Brown BOGOTA -- The United States has issued a new warning against travel to Colombia, branding it the kidnap capital of the world and a country racked by seemingly uncontrolled violence. ``There is a greater risk of being kidnapped in Colombia than in any other country in the world,'' the State Department said in a ``Travel Warning'' issued Thursday. It said that more than 12 Americans were kidnapped in Colombia in the first five months of the year, twice as many as in all of 1998. The department advised U.S. citizens to avoid Colombia at all costs. ``Violence by narco-traffickers, guerrillas, paramilitary groups and other criminal elements continues to affect all parts of the country,'' said the warning. ``Acts of violence against foreigners have occurred in all regions of Colombia, both urban and rural,'' it added, in what was thought to be its strongest advisory yet against travel to South America's second most populous country. The statement -- which was sure to hurt foreign investment and sound a death knell for Colombia's already moribund tourist industry -- noted that most kidnappings of Americans had been done by the country's two leading Marxist rebel groups. Both have been on a U.S. list of ``foreign terrorist organizations'' since October 1997. Further clouding Colombia's economic outlook, and adding to its image as a country out of control, New York-based Standard and Poor's downgraded one of Colombia's coveted investment grade credit ratings Friday. The ratings firm cited the nation's 35-year-old civil conflict and its growing economic costs, including a recent surge in military spending, as reasons for the downgrade, which is likely to increase borrowing costs abroad. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's biggest rebel army, prompted international outrage in March when it abducted and murdered three U.S. activists campaigning for the rights of a local Indian tribe. More recently the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN) grabbed headlines with two mass abductions. Both were aimed at making Colombia's elite feel the heat of a war that has killed more than 35,000 people in the countryside over the past decade, rebel leaders said. On April 12, ELN commandos hijacked a commercial airliner and kidnapped its 41 passengers and crew. And on May 30, ELN fighters abducted more than 140 people from a church in an affluent district of the southwest city of Cali. Fifty-four of the churchgoers are still being held. Twenty-four remain in captivity from the hijacking, including at least two foreigners. One has been identified as Daniel Wolman, 33, of Chicago. A 52-year-old Colombian engineer, who was among the hijack victims, died of an apparent heart attack Wednesday. His death stepped up pressure on the ELN, which was led by a former Roman Catholic priest until last year, to free its remaining hostages. A statement issued by government and ELN negotiators late Thursday night said more hostages were likely to be freed between Saturday and next Thursday. But it did not say how many people were involved. More than 2,600 kidnappings were reported by the National Police in Colombia last year, up by more than one-third from 1997. An overwhelming majority have been blamed on rebels. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited _______________________________________________________________________ *********************************************************************** * Visit the website of CSN's Champaign-Urbana (Illinois) chapter at * * http://www.prairienet.org/csncu S*bscribe to the COLOMBIA BULLETIN * * For free copy and info contact CSN, P.O. Box 1505, Madison WI 53701 * * or call (608) 257-8753 fax: (608) 255-6621 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Visit the COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK at http://www.igc.org/csn * * Visit the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at http://www.prairienet.org/clm * *********************************************************************** Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
