Why was Ecuador giving sanctuary to FARC terrorist?
Tensions in the Andes are running high after Colombia launched an airstrike on leftist rebels based in neighboring Ecuador over the weekend.Does Correa realize what he is admitting to? He appears to be admitting to being an accessory after the fact to the murders of 57 people by giving sanctuary to the killers. If he had captured them and turned them over to Columbia he could have made a stand for the rule of law, instead he makes technical arguments with a lack of equity on his side. While the story indicates why the rebels sought refuge in Ecuador, it does not explain why Ecuador let them stay.Colombia, a staunch US ally, says it never violated Ecuador's sovereignty in the operation that killed 17 rebels, including Raúl Reyes, the most senior rebel ever to be killed in combat in the more than 40 years since the rebels rose up against Colombia's government.
But Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa recalled his ambassador to Colombia and said that Ecuador "will not allow any more offenses by the Colombian government."
He also warned such actions might result in the "ultimate consequences."
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who considers Mr. Correa an ally in his efforts to unite Latin American nations against the US, issued a public warning to Colombia's conservative president, Álvaro Uribe.
"You had better not get the idea of doing this on our territory because it would be a cause for a war," said Mr. Chávez.
Relations between Mr. Uribe and Chávez soured last fall over the Venezuelan leader's efforts to secure the release of rebel-held hostages.
The strike will make reconciliation harder, say analysts.
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"Colombia did not violate sovereignty but acted according to the principle of legitimate defense," the Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
Under Uribe's security policies, rebels have been driven to remote, rural areas of Colombia and have seen their ranks slashed by desertions, casualties, and captures.
Many rebel units have been pushed to the porous borders with Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama, where they reportedly cross over to find respite from military pressure.
Mr. Reyes's death is a "devastating blow" to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), says Alfredo Rangel of the Bogotá-based Security and Democracy Foundation, adding that the rebels would now have to "reconsider whether their armed struggle is still valid."
Reyes was widely considered to have been next in line to succeed legendary FARC founder Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda.
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Reyes was wanted in connection with 57 murders and four cases of kidnapping, according to the general prosecutor's office. He also faced charges for 26 counts of terrorism and 25 for rebellion.
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Correa said his own troops sent to the area had found the bodies of 15 rebels in a makeshift camp in their underwear.
"There was no pursuit," he said angrily. "They were bombed and massacred while they slept."
He should also be embarrassed that he also has Chavez of Venezuela on his side. Reuters reports that Chavez is sending tanks to the Columbian border area.
...Chavez appears to have lost his composure. Much of his rambling was just a string of insults. His incoherent order to his defense minister suggest an unplanned operation that will probably be a debacle for Venezuela should it have any contact with a real army. It also appears that he too is embracing the FARC murderers overtly now. Perhaps he is worried about losing profits from Venezuela's facilitating the transit of illegal drugs for FARC.
"Mr. Defense Minister, move me 10 battalions to the frontier with Colombia immediately, tank battalions," Chavez said on his weekly TV show. "The air force should mobilize. We do not want war."
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On Sunday, Chavez accused Uribe of lying about the details of the operation that killed the rebel in Ecuador, where the leftist government of President Rafael Correa is a close Venezuelan ally. He called it a "cowardly assassination" of a "good revolutionary."
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This is yet another event that shows Chavez's support for terrorist and anti-American organizations. The country of Colombia has been a firm ally of the US. It has been involved in a bloody long lasting conflict with FARC and other terrorist and drug-trafficking organizations. The US must send a message to the Colombia's hostile neighbors, and defend its most loyal friend the region.
ReplyDelete"Colombia, a staunch US ally, says it never violated Ecuador's sovereignty in the operation"
ReplyDeleteSimply laughable.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=awDPhVeW12GY&refer=latin_america
(quote from article) "Colombia's Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo apologized for the incursion"
WHY DO YOU APOLOGIZE IF YOU NEVER VIOLATED THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ANOTHER COUNTRY?
Latin America was much more critical of Colombia. Presidents Michelle Bachelet of Chile and Cristina Fernández of Argentina were unequivocal in their condemnation of Colombia. The Argentine foreign ministry said that Argentina "was alarmed and worried by the blatant violation of the territorial sovereignty of a Latin American country, Ecuador" President Bachelet said that Colombia owes Ecuador an explanation. She implied that what Colombia really should do is apologise. Brazil's foreign minister, Celso Amorim, was more outspoken: "There is no doubt that any territorial violation is something that should be condemned [and] a serious act...[the attack] is a [criminal] offense which has an impact on the security of all the countries in the region, especially the small ones"
Nicaragua, which has a territorial dispute with Colombia over three atolls (Roncador, Quitasueño and Serrana) in the Caribbean, was the most critical of Colombia. President Daniel Ortega said that "the situation in Colombia was a serious problem and grave threat to Latin America" He said that the drug traffickers were picking Colombian presidents and that the Colombian drug business had contaminated Central America "from Mexico to Panama" while the internal conflict inside Colombia risked spilling over into neighbouring countries. Ortega called on the Colombian government to negotiate with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc). This is the line that President Hugo Chávez took on 2 March.
The US State Department's deputy official spokesman, Tom Casey, argued that the problems caused by the Colombian raid on Ecuador, which killed 21 people including Raúl Reyes, the number two in the Farc, needed to be sorted out diplomatically.
The relevant question is: Did the government of Ecuador know that FARC was settled there, where it was attacked, and was permisive about his settlement there telling nothing to colombian government? If yes, then Ecuador was also violating OAS Chart for harboring a criminal organization, right?
ReplyDelete