And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
{WASHINGTON SPIN DOCTORS REPORT: Since Occidental is the US based
corporation that has benefited from the deaths, and Washington is very
concerned about oil imports and disruptions in the supply chain from
overseas following the millennium changeover..this convenient explanation
below appears all too pat...More lies???
Ish}
Spider bite called a factor in the killing of 3 U.S. hostages in Colombia
By TIM JOHNSON Herald Staff Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia -- A spider bite that sickened -- and perhaps killed --
one of three American hostages was a major factor that led a remote
guerrilla band to execute all three U.S. hostages, a military intelligence
report says.
The rebel band decided to shoot all three Americans, leaving no witnesses,
in order to cover up the killings because they were afraid of the
consequences of allowing a U.S. hostage to die for lack of medical
attention, Defense Minister Rodrigo Lloreda told The Herald. The guerrillas
also apparently believed the Americans might be CIA agents.
Lloreda said it appeared that top leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC) were unaware of the killings and did not sanction them.
Instead, he said, an unusual series of events led a remote rebel unit in
northeastern Arauca state to take action on its own, infuriating
Washington, endangering Colombia's fragile peace process, illustrating the
autonomy enjoyed by far-flung FARC units and underscoring the rough
conditions in the jungle where most kidnapping victims are confined.
Lloreda said the military intelligence report was based on radio intercepts
of the FARC captured by the armed forces or by Colombia's equivalent of the
FBI.
Lloreda did not name the U.S. hostage who grew ill from the spider bite,
but El Espectador newspaper said it was Ingrid Washinawatok, 41, a
Menominee Indian activist who lived in New York and came to Colombia with
two U.S. colleagues to help Colombia's U'wa tribe fight off oil exploration
in its protected reserve.
Washinawatok and the two others -- Terence Freitas, a 24-year-old biologist
from Los Angeles; and Lahe'ena'e Gay, 39, of Hawaii -- were kidnapped near
the U'wa reserve in northeast Colombia on Jan. 25 by gunmen wearing
civilian clothing.
Bodies found in Venezuela
Their bullet-riddled and bound bodies turned up March 4 just over the
border from Colombia in Venezuelan territory -- pulling a third country
into the investigation.
Debate over who was behind the kidnappings has shaken Colombia. The FARC
has denied a role, although the group says it is investigating. Friends and
relatives of the dead Americans have suggested right-wing paramilitary
forces may have been responsible, noting that Freitas had been threatened
by them.
But more voices have arisen -- including the police, the army, U'wa tribal
leaders, and Washington -- saying evidence points to the FARC.
``There is no doubt that they were kidnapped by the FARC. That's clear,''
Lloreda said, noting that radio intercepts captured conversation about the
kidnap victims among FARC combatants.
Lloreda's account that a spider bite left a U.S. hostage stricken could not
be independently confirmed.
According to the military intelligence report, rebels took the ailing
American to a clinic for treatment, but were told she was so ill that she
would have to stay at the clinic. The guerrillas refused and took her with
them.
The guerrillas of the FARC's 45th Front apparently believed they were
holding valuable assets, rather than innocent humanitarians.
``They thought they were CIA members. These guys, they say that [in their
radio conversations],'' Lloreda said.
Communications problems
Saddled by a seriously ill hostage, the rebel unit then faced
communications problems with its superiors, he said.
``They became very nervous with this. And they didn't know what to do,''
Lloreda said, adding that the rebels received an initial order to kill the
hostages, then another radio communication rescinding the first order. But
that order arrived too late.
``And so they decided not to leave witnesses,'' he added.
Venezuelan authorities, who on Monday found the 9mm shell casings
apparently used to shoot the blindfolded hostages in the face and chest,
have voiced irritation that the crime took place in their nation.
State Department spokesman James Rubin said Monday that the FARC is
responsible for ``this cowardly act of international terrorism,'' and that
the gunmen should be hunted down and sent to the United States to stand trial.
``I'm 125 percent sure from multiple, independent, credible sources that
we've thrown the blame on the guilty party,'' said another U.S. official,
who asked not to be named.
Handover unlikely
Even if the FARC determined that its members carried out the slayings, it
is unlikely that the insurgency would hand over the guilty parties, experts
said. The commander in the region is German ``Grannobles'' Brice�o, a FARC
regional chieftain linked to drug trafficking.
Brice�o is the brother of the insurgency's No. 2 leader and a member of a
hard-line faction that may oppose tentative peace talks that began with the
government of President Andres Pastrana in early January.
``We know that `Grannobles' is one of the biggest drug traffickers in the
FARC,'' said a U.S. counternarcotics official in Washington, adding that
the commander oversees ``a good crossroads to get drugs out into Venezuela
and to get chemicals and arms in from Venezuela.''
Army officials identify German Brice�o as the voice on an intercepted FARC
radio conversation about one of the U.S. hostages that says: ``Let the son
of a b---h die.''
Lloreda acknowledged that persuading the FARC No. 2 leader, Jorge ``Mono
Jojoy'' Brice�o, to hand over his brother is exceedingly unlikely.
``They have to deny everything,'' Lloreda said. ``To accept that this
happened, they would have to turn the guy over.''
Louis Proyect
(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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