From: Pakito Arriaran <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Weekly News Update on Colombia #589, 5/13/01
WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
ISSUE #589, MAY 13, 2001
NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK
339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012
(212) 674-9499 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*10. COLOMBIA: JAIL BREAKS, NEW MASSACRES
On May 7, rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) used dynamite, machine gun fire, rockets and homemade
missiles to blast their way into a jail in Caloto municipality,
Cauca department, and free 61 prisoners, including FARC members.
[AP 5/8/01]
The jail break came two days after suspected rightwing
paramilitaries killed seven villagers and wounded five others in
a rural area of Caloto; the assailants accused their victims of
supporting the rebels. [AP 5/6/01, 5/8/01; EFE 5/6/01] On May 8,
suspected paramilitaries massacred four members of a single
family in a rural area of Patia-El Bordo municipality, also in
Cauca department. [El Pais (Cali) 5/10/01; EFE 5/9/01]
The Caloto jailbreak was the FARC's third successful prison
breakout in as many months: on Feb. 14, the FARC liberated 19
prisoners from the Neiva jail in Cauca department; and on Apr.
17, FARC rebels blew up a prison wall in Florencia, Caqueta
department and freed 35 prisoners. [Reuters 4/18/01, 5/8/01; El
Colombiano (Medellin) 2/21/01]
*11. COLOMBIA: PARAS LINKED TO DRUG TRADE
Klaus Nydholm, the representative in Colombia of the United
Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP, a separate agency from the
control board), told reporters on May 8 that rightwing Colombian
paramilitaries "are indeed involved" in drug trafficking, "even
more than the guerrillas of the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia], to such an extent that there are regions of the
country in which it's hard to tell who are drug traffickers and
who are paramilitaries." Although the rebels "finance their war"
with taxes on the drug trade, Nydholm said, "We do not consider
the FARC drug traffickers. We believe that it is still a matter
of a guerrilla organization with political objectives." Nydholm
added that the smaller rebel National Liberation Army (ELN)
"never has been very involved" in drug trafficking. [El Diario-La
Prensa (NY) 5/11/01 from AFP] [The US-financed "drug war" in
Colombia is widely believed to be aimed at fighting the guerrilla
groups while supporting the Colombian military, which is
regularly accused of collaboration with the paramilitaries.]
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Weekly News Update on the Americas * Nicaragua Solidarity Network of NY
339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 * 212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139
http://home.earthlink.net/~dbwilson/wnuhome.html * [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Pakito Arriaran * enege brigadak
soulcialist stiliagi
http://inquilino.net/palante/enege.html
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