Colombia Advisory Sheet

12 Aug 2002

Emergency Declared By Colombian President

COLOMBIA: In response to five days of violence following his inauguration, Colombia's new President, Alvaro Uribe, has declared a national state of emergency. Uribe invoked a provision in the Colombian constitution, allowing him to suspend civil liberties in the event of a threat to the security of the state. The decision -- taken at an emergency cabinet meeting late on Sunday -- follows a spate of violence which began on Wednesday and has claimed more than 100 lives.

Twenty people were killed and more than 60 wounded in the initial attacks, in which a military academy and the presidential palace itself were targeted. No details were given about the measures, which became effective immediately. According to the constitution, the emergency can be imposed for as long as 90 days, after which the president can extend it for the same period twice if necessary.

18 May 2002

COLOMBIA: Officials said on Friday that some 300 people have been killed in three days of fighting between leftist guerrillas and right- wing paramilitaries in the northwestern part of Colombia. Authorities said that further casualties were inevitable. The fighting began this week after the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) attempted to take over the town of Campamento, which is an important trading center for illegal drugs and weapons.

The town is under the control of Colombia's largest rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which responded with an all-out assault on the paramilitaries. Initial reports suggest the FARC's 36th Front inflicted a heavy defeat on the paramilitaries. The majority of the bodies recovered so far were of AUC members...

23 Apr 2002

Governor Kidnapped by Guerillas

COLOMBIA: Authorities said on Monday leftist rebels abducted one of the country's most important governors and a former defense minister, snatching them from the ranks of a peace march to join a growing collection of kidnapped politicians. Guerrillas identifying themselves as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) intercepted the duo as they marched along with 1,000 activists in a rural area about 175 miles northwest of the nation's capital, Bogota, on Sunday evening.

President Andres Pastrana condemned the abduction, but also slammed kidnapped Antioquia Governor Guillermo Gaviria for failing to heed military warnings against participating in the march. Pastrana said: "The government fights as hard as possible to create safeguards, but there is no security worth anything if the military's recommendations are not obeyed." With the kidnapping, Gaviria, based in Colombia's third largest city of Medellin, joins a growing number of high-profile abductees, whom the rebels want to swap for jailed guerrilla leaders.

22 Apr 2002

COLOMBIA: The Colombian secret service reportedly foiled a planned rebel bomb attack that was to have taken place in a busy commercial district of the capital, Bogota. Colonel German Jaramillo, the head of the secret service, said: "The terrorist action would have destroyed a large part of the commercial area. The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) had installed a bomb in the corner of a building, but fortunately for the business owners in the area it was deactivated." He said the bomb, found in front of the Shangai shopping area in the San Andresito commercial district, was made out of a powerful mixture of initiating high-power explosives, gunpowder and detonators.

20:15CDT - 11 Apr 2002

Gunmen Storm Regional Assembly in Colombia; 20 Legislators Taken Hostage

CALI, COLOMBIA (EmergencyNet News) -- Armed gunmen reportedly stormed a regional assembly and kidnapped up to 20 Colombian legislators in the city of Cali. The attack was reportedly carried out by a group of about 20 armed men and accompanied by at least three explosions in various parts of the city. At least one policeman was killed and several other people may have been wounded during the incident. It is believed that five of the assemblymen were eventually rescued by police and military forces. There is no information on who carried out the attack, but left-wing rebels are suspected and have carried out similar kidnappings in the past. The brazen attack on a major government building by guerillas, in Colombia's second largest city, is viewed as an escalation of the conflict by ERRI counter-terrorist analysts. Few other official details are currently available. We will bring you additional information as circumstances warrant...

10 Apr 2002

Urban Bombing Campaign in Bogotá?

COLOMBIA: Just hours after two small devices were detonated in city sewers and another was deactivated, police located two improvised explosive devices fewer than 200 yards from the office of Colombia's President Andres Pastrana. A bomb squad was reportedly trying to deactivate the devices near the Casa de Narino, Pastrana's office. Two police explosives experts were killed on Tuesday as they tried to deactivate a car bomb in Sibate, just south of Bogotá.

Police said Tuesday's bomb exploded at 11:45 GMT in the vehicle, which was parked close to a police station and contained a corpse. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. But police said early signs pointed to an urban commando of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Shortly thereafter, two small explosions shook sewers at separate points in downtown Bogotá, leaving three people slightly injured. The explosions occurred in heavily traveled areas just 1,200 yards from one another. A third "sewer bomb" was later deactivated.

07 Apr 2002

Ten Dead, Fifty Wounded in Colombian Car Bomb

COLOMBIA: A car bomb has exploded in the city of Villavicencio, killing at least 10 and wounding more than 50, according to law enforcement sources. The incident happened overnight, at about 01:10 local time, in a busy neighborhood filled with nightclubs and restaurants. There are so-far unconfirmed reports that the main blast was actually a secondary explosion, possibly designed to target police and rescue workers. One source says that there was a small explosion, designed to draw officials to the scene, before the larger car explosion. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the blast, preliminary indications seemed to indicate that the act was perpetrated by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerillas. Investigation of the bombing continues at the time of this report.

31 March 2002

COLOMBIA: In continues to be one of the most underreported stories of recent times in the Western media, rebels reportedly kidnapped six people this weekend in western Colombia, while police seized a ton of explosive material from a vehicle in the southern province of Huila, a day after deactivating a large bomb. The six were kidnapped in rural areas of Risaralda province. Military authorities blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Rebels set up a roadblock at San Clemente Friday, originally taking eight people hostage, before releasing four. Another two people were kidnapped on Saturday at Belen de Umbria after some 20 FARC rebels set up another roadblock.

Police seized explosives from a vehicle near the town of Villavieja, after being alerted by the "suspicious" behavior of the three people traveling in it. Earlier in the day, army authorities said that nine anti-government rebels and five civilians had been killed in weekend violence in Colombia.

22 Mar 2002

Concerns About Cross Border Raids By FARC; 483 Dead Since Peace Accords Failed

COLOMBIA: According to a recent army report, an upsurge in fighting since early January has left 483 people dead, including 21 leftist rebels and 17 army troops killed in two days of violence on the border with Venezuela. Of the total, some 246 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

(FARC) rebels have lost their lives since the start of the year, while armed forces losses are at 161. Some 44 National Liberation Army guerrillas and 24 paramilitaries are among those killed, along with two members of the Popular Liberation Army and six common criminals.

The toll includes heavy losses of FARC rebels and army fighters since Wednesday due to violent clashes in the Tibu region, some 385 miles northeast of Bogota. The fighting was said to be ongoing in the coca leaf-producing region and FARC was now reportedly launching attacks from Venezuelan territory. Underlining the severity of the situation, a military spokesman said some of the rebels had crossed into neighboring Venezuela and were launching propane gas tanks loaded with explosives at Colombian soldiers across the border.

The fact that rebels had taken refuge in Venezuela meant any offensive against them is diplomatically impossible. The spokesman said: "The situation is serious." Colombia's Foreign Ministry has informed the Venezuelan authorities of the presence of members of FARC on its territory and of the fighting taking place on the frontier.

17 Mar 2002

Colombia: Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino Killed Outside Church

CALI, COLOMBIA: Unknown gunmen in the city of Cali shot and killed Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino. The 63-year-old priest, who had frequently spoken out against drug barons and guerrillas, was gunned down on Saturday evening, outside the church where he had just conducted a marriage ceremony. The killing came as the Colombian army dealt its hardest blow against rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), since peace talks broke down on 20 February.

Monsignor Duarte was rushed to a hospital, after he was shot a number of times as he left the Buen Pastor Church and got into his car. Doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. Durate's driver said: "Two guys came and opened fire and hit him three or four times, maybe even six times." Soon after the churchman's murder, a major generator failure cut off power to Colombia's three main cities, Bogota, Medellin and Cali. It was not clear if the blackout was the result of sabotage.

13 Mar 2002

COLOMBIA: Five people were killed, four others were wounded and a store was destroyed when a car bomb exploded on Tuesday in the town of Puerto Lleras, located about 105 miles south of Bogota. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but local officials stated that the left-wing rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is the most likely culprit. In a separate incident, a FARC militant was killed when explosives that he was carrying in a car detonated prematurely. Reports did not specify the location of the incident.

01 Mar 2002

COLOMBIA: The government on Thursday declared a war zone in a large part of southern Colombia, including areas just outside the capital. The military was given special powers and rewards have been posted for the capture of rebel chiefs. The Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia (FARC) have stepped up attacks on power lines, bridges and other infrastructure since President Andres Pastrana called off three-year-old peace talks last week. Guerrilla bands skirmished with the army in the Andes mountains just over an hour's drive from the capital Bogota on Thursday as Interior Minister Armando Estrada declared parts of six provinces a military "operations theater."

27 Feb 2002

COLOMBIA: Three Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas were killed in an ongoing battle just 12 miles east of the capital near the town of Fomeque. The three rebels were killed in fierce clashes with army patrols in towns surrounding Bogota. Seven civilians from a group the FARC kidnapped at a roadblock on Monday were also set free. Local news reports indicated that the civilians included two ten-year-olds, and that ten more remained hostage. Soldiers also clashed with rebels outside towns located 30 miles southeast and 25 miles northeast of Bogota. Rebels on Tuesday also bombed a key regional bridge and communication towers throughout the region surrounding Bogota, leaving thousands without telephone service...

26 Feb 2002

THREAT MATRIX

U.S. State Department Issues Public Announcement For Colombia

WASHINGTON: On 22 February, the U.S. Department of State issued the following Public Announcement for Colombia: "The security situation in Colombia has worsened in the aftermath of the collapse of peace talks between the government and rebels. On February 20, Colombian President Andres Pastrana announced that peace talks with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) had ended and that the armed forces would re-establish government control over the demilitarized zone in southern Colombia. As a result of these developments, there is a likelihood of increased terrorist violence in Colombia.

The Department of State reaffirms its warning that American citizens avoid all travel to Colombia. Americans already residing or traveling in Colombia are advised to exercise increased caution and vigilance under the current circumstances. Any suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the appropriate Colombian authorities."

COLOMBIA: Officials said at least 18 people were killed in rebel- related clashes over the past two days, including three police officers in a FARC ambush and two soldiers attempting to deactivate a bomb. The deaths come as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas launch a vast offensive against the government, blasting bridges, electricity and telecommunication towers, and blocking key highways across the country. Three police officers were killed and four seriously wounded when their patrol was ambushed by FARC rebels in southern Magdalena department.

Earlier two soldiers were killed when attempting to deactivate explosives found inside a bus that the FARC had placed to block a highway near La Florencia. In a separate incident a soldier was killed in clashes with rebels near the town of Suaza, just north of the former FARC safe haven. Also four residents of La Macarena, a jungle town deep inside what used to be southern rebel-controlled territory, were murdered on Sunday while another was missing.

And right-wing paramilitaries in the northern town of Magangue killed five detectives belonging to the DAS, the Colombian secret police, and threw the bodies into a river. Soon after, DAS agents, joined by navy personnel, hunted down the killers, shot and killed three and captured five along with a weapons cache. However some 30 municipalities in south- east, southwest and southern departments as well as on the border with Ecuador, were without electricity after FARC rebels destroyed pylons carrying power lines.

From: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Saturday, February 23, 2002-Vol. 8, No. 054

COLOMBIA: Government soldiers have begun retaking a huge rebel safe haven in the south of the country. Thousands of troops met little resistance as they advanced into the area from the east and west, backed by hundreds of air strikes, and took control of the main rebel town, San Vicente del Caguan. Local residents said three civilians -- including a child - had been killed in the aerial bombardment of the town. Three armed forces personnel were wounded when their helicopter came under fire.

Analysts in Bogota say the retaking of the zone appears to have caught the rebels entirely by surprise. Government forces are in such a position of control that President Pastrana will visit San Vicente on Saturday. On Friday, government troops captured a former army base and moved on towards five towns inside the former rebel stronghold. The head of the armed forces, General Fernando Tapias, said although rebel leaders had left the area many fighters were disguising themselves and trying to mingle with civilians.

22 Feb 2002 - 08:30CST

COLOMBIA:

Peace Talks Suspended, Troops Move Into FARC Enclave; The Battle May Soon Be Joined

Bogotá, Colombia -- Colombian special forces are preparing to move into an area in the south of the country which served as a safe haven for left-wing rebels for three years. Troops are massing on the edge of the enclave and are expected to enter on foot later on Friday. The Colombian air force has been bombing the area and said several rebel targets had been hit.

The bombing began hours after the President Andres Pastrana broke off peace talks and vowed to retake the area following the hijacking of a civilian plane. A senator, Jorge Gechem Turbay, was kidnapped on Wednesday and his plane was flown to a rural area close to territory held by the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Colombian military said 85 rebel targets had been hit in 200 sorties.

One fighter plane was hit by guerrilla ground fire, but was not badly damaged and was able to return to base. Targets are likely to have included clandestine air strips used for smuggling cocaine, hideouts of guerrilla commanders and drug labs. About 13,000 troops were ordered to advance on the stronghold, and three planeloads of counter-insurgency forces landed at an airport in Florencia, a three-hour drive to the west. One top army commander predicted "a bloody fight."

Elsewhere in the country, 18 right-wing paramilitaries were reported killed in clashes with a joint force of left-wing guerrillas. FARC members joined National Liberation Army (ELN) forces for an attack on the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The bodies were found by the side of a road in Dagua, located south of the capital Bogota...

20 Feb 2002

21:00CST - 20 Feb 2002

Peace Process Suspended in Colombia; Troops to Move Into Enclave

Bogotá, Colombia (Emergency Net News) -- According to reports coming from the region, Colombian President Andres Pastrana has declared a suspension to peace talks with guerillas from the FARC revolutionary organization. Additionally, it is being reported that military forces are being readied to move to retake the Switzerland-sized enclave that was granted to FARC during three years of peace negotiations. Usually reliable sources told EmergencyNet News that any such movement by Colombian military forces into the FARC enclave will undoubtedly result in escalating violence in any number of parts of the country. Military operations could begin as soon as midnight tonight. EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Colombia closely and will provide additional details as circumstances warrant...

27 Jan 2002

Five Policemen Killed in Reported FARC Attack

COLOMBIA: Police said suspected leftist rebels on Saturday ambushed and killed five policemen along a northern road. The five policemen were traveling in vehicles in Cesar province when the guerrillas stopped them by detonating a bomb and then opening fire. Although it wasn't immediately clear who was behind the ambush near Manaure, about 370 miles north of Bogota, the capital, police suspect it was one of the two main leftist rebel groups. Meanwhile, the army said its soldiers killed five FARC fighters on Saturday in southern Colombia while police accused the rebels of attacking police stations in five towns late Friday.

16 Jan 2002

COLOMBIA:

Rebels Attack Police Station Shortly After Peace Extension

Leftist rebels came out fighting Tuesday, just hours after President Andres Pastrana accepted an eleventh-hour accord to salvage Colombia's three-year-old peace process. Guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) detonated bombs in the town of Puente Quetame, 30 miles south of the capital, Bogota. They also blasted into a prison and freed 39 suspected rebel members. Defense Minister Gustavo Bell said: "While the FARC was expressing their willingness to have peace, they were bombing a civilian town."

The latest violence seemed to take officials by surprise, and there was no immediate comment from the rebels on the purpose or timing of the attacks. But analysts said that without a cease-fire in effect, insurgency violence would likely continue as it had throughout the three-year negotiations with the FARC carrying out attacks and taking hostages for ransom. Bell said that because of the new attacks, troops would maintain their positions around the rebel zone.

In Puente Quetame, attacks by FARC fighters damaged a police station and a nearby courthouse. In the nearby town of Ibague, FARC rebels blasted into a prison and freed 39 suspected rebel members. One guard was killed. And in the towns of Guayabal and Cubarral, rebels used dynamite to destroy two electrical pylons, causing rolling black-outs throughout Meta province in the south. Rebels also attacked the town of Algeciras, 175 miles southwest of Bogota, leveling the police station late Monday night. Army troops were sent in to repel the attack. At least three FARC rebels were killed.

15 Jan 2002

COLOMBIA: Foreign envoys and rebels celebrated an accord that saved Colombia's peace process and averted an escalation of the 38-year civil war. Thirty minutes before elite counter-insurgency troops backed by tanks, helicopters and warplanes were to seize a rebel safe haven on Monday, President Andres Pastrana told a national television audience from Bogota that he had stopped the count-down-to-war clock because of a breakthrough in negotiations...

13 Jan 2002

COLOMBIA:

Pastrana Declares End to Cease-Fire and Orders Rebels To Vacate Sanctuary

COLOMBIA: Colombian President Andres Pastrana said the peace process with the rebel army is over. He ordered the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  (FARC), to vacate a jungle safe zone he granted them three years ago as a condition for peace talks. An 11th-hour proposal from FARC was rejected as "not sufficient." Pastrana on Saturday gave the rebels 48 hours to vacate the zone. In FARC's proposal, the rebels appeared to drop demands that the military immediately end overflights of the zone and controls on its borders.

Car Bomb Wounds 13 People as Region Heats Up

Officials announced that eight civilians and five Colombian soldiers were wounded when a car bomb exploded outside a military post on the edge of the rebel-controlled demilitarized zone in southern Colombia. The car bomb went off in front of the headquarters of an army battalion in the town of Granada, Meta department, where soldiers are mobilizing to enter the Switzerland-sized demilitarized zone leftist rebels control. The victims were slightly injured.

In a separate incident before the attack, police said officers arrested four men from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who were observing troop movements. Police said the FARC was planning a wave of car bomb attacks to stop soldiers mobilizing towards the demilitarized zone.

Early Saturday, one person was injured when 55 pounds of dynamite exploded in a border town in northeastern Colombia, causing only modest damage. The blast damaged buildings at a park near the international bridge connecting Cucuta to Venezuela. The victim was injured as he drove by when the dynamite exploded. Cucuta, is 380 miles northeast of the capital and has long been a hotbed of activity for the National Liberation Army (ELN). The army brigade responsible for patrolling the area said Saturday two car bombs allegedly set by the ELN had been deactivated. They said the vehicles were abandoned on a highway outside of Cucuta.

08 Jan 2002

COLOMBIA/N. IRELAND:

More Links Drawn Between IRA and FARC

[Terror Group Reference: Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)]

Colombian authorities are said to believe that up to 25 IRA members may have entered the country to train local terrorists over the past decade. New allegations were published in newspapers in Dublin and Bogota as prosecutors in Colombia completed their case against three Irish nationals arrested in August. The new claims paint a picture of links between the Provisional IRA and Colombian rebels.

According to the Dublin-based Evening Herald newspaper and Colombia’s El Espectador, three defectors from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have now identified the three Irishmen being held in Bogota on suspicion of training terrorists. Two defectors have claimed that they were trained by Martin McCauley and James Monaghan in the assembly of an antipersonnel mine. The Evening Herald said that Colombian intelligence had evidence of at least three visits by IRA cells, each with five members, in recent years.

It said that at the time of the arrests in August another two Irishmen were working with anti-government rebels, but apparently managed to flee to Venezuela and returned to Ireland. Colombian prosecutors are also understood to be looking at evidence that FARC guerrillas are using mortars powered by oxygen cylinders, a trademark of the Provisional IRA.

Additional, Updated Reference: January 9, 2002--ERRI PROFILES OF COLOMBIAN REBEL GROUPS

September 7, 2001

COLOMBIA:

Colombia - Public Announcement

In view of the recent extraditions to the United States of indicted narcotics traffickers from Colombia, and the past history of narcotics traffickers conducting bombings in public areas as a reprisal for or deterrent to extradition, the Department of State advises American citizens in Colombia to exercise enhanced security awareness. Any suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the appropriate Colombian authorities, and to the U.S. Embassy. American citizens in Colombia may contact the U.S. Embassy via telephone at 571-315-0811 during work hours, or 571-315-2109/10 after hours.

For further information concerning travel to Colombia, travelers should consult the Department of State's Travel Warning and Consular Information Sheet for Colombia at http://travel.state.gov/colombia.html.

This Public Announcement supplements the April 17, 2001, Colombia Travel Warning and the April 18, 2001, Consular Information Sheet for Colombia. This Announcement expires December 3, 2001.

Right-Wing Colombia Group Added to Terrorism List as Powell Heads for Latin America

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration Monday designated a right-wing Colombia group as a terrorist organization as Secretary of State Colin Powell headed for Latin America with pledges of closer relations. The designation of the United Self-Defense Forces as a foreign terrorist group was based on "an exhaustive review of the AUC's violent activities over the past two years," Powell said in a statement, using the Spanish initials for the group.

As a result of the designation, financial support for the group is illegal and American financial institutions are required to block the group's assets.

"The AUC has carried out numerous acts of terrorism, including the massacre of hundreds of civilians, the forced displacement of entire villages and the kidnapping of political figures to force recognition of AUC demands," Powell said. "Many of these massacres were designed to terrorize and intimidate local populations so the AUC could gain control of those areas," the statement said.

In all, 31 groups, including FARC and ELN of Colombia, are designated as foreign terrorist groups. "I hope this will leave no doubt that the United States considers terrorism to be unacceptable, regardless of the political or ideological purpose," Powell said.

20:00CDT - 04 Sep 01

Allegations that Colombian Rebels Used "Gas" in Attack on Police Station

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA (EmergencyNet News) -- ERRI analysts are currently examining preliminary reports that Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerillas have used some kind of "toxic gas" in an attack on the police station in the town of San Adolfo, in Huila province.

According to National police chief Gen. Ernesto Gilibert, four police officers were killed after the rebels threw some sort of device into a police bunker. Witnesses said that a "dark gray smoke," which caused almost immediate blindness and shortness of breath, engulfed the bunker. Although Colombian police said that the gas may have been CN or CS tear-gas, which can cause serious symptoms in a confined space, tear-gas usually is not lethal. 

Colombian authorities said that autopsies and toxicology tests are being carried out on the remains of the deceased police officers to ascertain the exact nature of the gas that was used. Both Colombian and U.S. experts say that if the FARC guerillas actually used poison gas in their attack, that it is a new and dangerous escalation of the conflict in Colombia. EmergencyNet News is monitoring this story closely and will provide additional details if/when they become available... 

22:30CDT - 23 August 2001

Powerful Blast Strikes Colombian City

From ERRI/EmergencyNet News Watchdesk

Medellin, Colombia (EmergencyNet News) -- According to police and military sources, a powerful explosion struck a residential neighborhood in Medellin at about 21:00 (local time) tonight. At least ten people were believed injured in the blast. Reports on the number of casualties vary, depending on the source. An unidentified army observer said that it appeared that the blast was caused by "a car bomb of some type."

So-far officially unconfirmed reports suggest that the late-evening Medellin explosion may have been one of three in the country in the past 24 hours. At least one person was killed and 25 others wounded in a blast near Marinilla, which is about 35 miles east of Medellin, earlier today. Another explosion, also earlier today, reportedly claimed the lives of at least fifteen (15) National Liberation Army, or ELN guerillas, as a truck load of explosives they were using to mine a roadway exploded.

ERRI counter-terrorist analysts said that they are seeing increasing evidence that the incidents today may only be the start of an impending terror campaign by both ELN and FARC insurgents. EmergencyNet News is monitoring the situation in Colombia closely and will provide additional updates as circumstances warrant...

19 August 2001

COLOMBIA:

Investigation Continues Into IRA Connections to FARC Revolutionaries; Reports of New Explosive Device

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA  (EmergencyNet News) -- According to a report in the Sunday London Times, three men who have been arrested on suspicion of teaching Colombian FARC guerrillas how to build better terrorist bombs, may have been experimenting with a new type of incendiary mortar munitions.

"This case just continues to get 'curiouser' and 'curiouser'...as the saying goes," ERRI's Clark Staten said today. "First you have allegations that the three men arrested while exiting a FARC enclave are members of, or associated with, the IRA in the U.K.," he continued. "And then further allegations surface that the suspects are also connected to the IRA offices that represent Sinn Fein in Cuba," Staten added.

"Finally, today's revelations would seem to indicate that the three suspects -- Monaghan, McCauley, and Connolly -- were engaging in weapons testing in anticipation of further terrorist attacks in either the U.K., Colombia, or both," the veteran counter-terrorism analyst added. "If these reports turn out to be true, they may be prime evidence of an international terrorist conspiracy and links that were previously not well known by law enforcement, Staten concluded.

In their defense, a court-appointed attorney for Monaghan, McCauley and Connolly said that they "maintained their innocence," and were just visiting Colombia "for sightseeing." 

16 August 2001

COLOMBIA:

IRA Suspects Arrested

Police said three Irish Republican Army (IRA) suspects arrested in the country may have been training rebels in the use of explosives. Police named two of the men as James Monaghan and Martin McCauley, both of whom it is believed have been previously convicted in Britain of terrorist charges and membership of the Provisional IRA. The identity of the third man has not been firmly established, though he was traveling under the name of  David Bracken.

Security forces were unable to arrest the men for five weeks because they were in a safe haven agreed by the Colombian government and the revolutionary paramilitary FARC. The men were detained as they left the area controlled by FARC. Police said Bracken is alleged to be the leader of the group, and was the only one of the three who spoke Spanish.

The arrests were made by a specialist investigative branch of the Colombian Police, known as the "Fiscalia," over the weekend. The Colombian military said they believed that the men had been instructing the FARC  in explosives and terrorist tactics. Observers in Colombia said it was reported that forensic examination of the men's clothing and luggage had shown traces of explosives.

ERRI counter-terrorist analysts said that they are not surprised by the arrests in Colombia. Current and former IRA bomb specialists have been observed acting as mercenary instructors in several parts of the world, including the Middle-East, Africa, and Asia. IRA bombers are said to be some of the "best and most experienced" in the world...and, if proven to be true, their participation could be expected to increase the sophistication of bombings carried out by the FARC.

11 August 2001

COLOMBIA:

Rebels Captured By Government Troops

A military spokesman said that government forces have captured 11 rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN). The men were caught in the city of Cartagena as the army continued its offensive against the ELN following the breakdown of peace talks earlier this week. Some 2,000 soldiers from the elite Rapid Deployment Force have been sent to Bolivar province - an ELN stronghold.

The government has revoked the rebels' political status and arrest warrants for guerrillas leaders have been renewed. This week's violence was sparked by the Colombian government's suspension of peace talks in Venezuela with the ELN guerrillas.

ERRI counter-terrorism analysts said that there is a greater likelihood of a renewed terrorist offensive and/or political kidnappings as a result of the break-down in peace negotiations.

07 August 2001

COLOMBIA:

Bomb Blasts Colombia's Oil Pipeline

BOGOTA -- According to the Xinhua news agency, a bomb blast paralyzed Colombia's longest oil pipeline on Saturday. The Cano Limon-Covenas Pipeline, located in western Colombia, the state-owned Colombian Petroleum Firm (Ecopetrol) announced the incident. The attack occurred near the town of Samore and caused an oil spill, Ecopetrol said.

A communiqué released by the Ecopetrol attributed the attack to the National Liberation Army (ELN), which criticized multinational oil firms for "exploiting oilfields in Colombia." The ELN is the second largest rebel group in Colombia after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline has been the target of 114 attacks so far this year, with 60 percent of the sabotage acts occurring in or near Arauca, a border area between Colombia and Venezuela.

13 July 2001

COLOMBIA:

Rebels Threaten Pipeline Sabotage

Late on Wednesday, Colombia's largest guerrilla group threatened to renew sabotage against the operations of the U.S.-based multinational Occidental Petroleum. The threat by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) came only hours after pumping resumed following a five-month stoppage due to earlier guerrilla bombings.

In a statement, the rebel group vowed to prevent even "a drop of petroleum" from being pumped out Occidental's Cano Limon oil field in eastern Arauca state until the company agrees to enter into negotiations. Los Angeles-based Occidental has said that it does not make extortion payments to rebels. The pipeline has reportedly been bombed 109 times this year.

03 July 2001

COLOMBIA:

18 Killed In Clash

Helicopter gunships and troops were used to repel attacks on two small towns just outside a guerrilla-controlled demilitarized enclave on Monday. The army said it killed 16 leftist rebels in the operation. Two soldiers were also killed in the fighting with leftist FARC guerrillas around Cartagena del Chaira and Puerto Rico in the southern province of Caqueta.

In more violence reported on Monday, local television said that suspected far-right paramilitary outlaws killed five people in the village of El Retiro in the northern province of Antioquia. The police could not immediately confirm the report, but the paramilitaries often target suspected guerrilla sympathizers and have killed hundreds of civilians this year.

BOGOTA:  Reports say a prison riot has broken out in the country's largest prison, La Modelo. It started after fighting began between left- wing rebels and right-wing paramilitary inmates. Witnesses said they heard explosions and shots at the prison, in the capital, Bogota. Police and army troops surrounded the building...

30 June 2001

COLOMBIA:

TODAY'S CENTRAL FOCUS:

Colombia Still The Kidnap Capital Of The World

By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst

In recent years, thousands of people have been abducted by the notorious kidnappers in Colombia. The victims are looked upon as nothing more as merchandise in an increasingly lucrative criminal industry that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Records for the year 200 show one abduction occurring in Colombia on average of every three hours. That is an estimated annual total of 3,500 - and includes only those that are actually reported.

Most abductions are blamed on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - leftist guerrillas who use kidnapping and the drug trade to fund their military campaign against the government. A report by the Colombian military in 1999 estimated the guerrillas had grossed more than US$600 million in ransom payments in the preceding five years. But the country's second rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), has also taken to staging mass abductions to boost its income and leverage in negotiations.

Several ELN operations have been particularly spectacular. The hijacking of a domestic airliner, the abduction of an entire church congregation in Cali and the kidnapping of an angling club out fishing. In the year 2000, the ELN emptied a restaurant outside Cali and set up roadblocks nearby, netting some 80 people.

The attacks showed Colombians they were not safe anywhere, whether at sea, on land or in the air. Kidnapping had previously been a fear of only the very rich. Many ordinary Colombians will no longer travel long distances by road, for fear of being abducted at rebel roadblocks.

In many cases, hostages are released following negotiations or payment. But others have been killed or mutilated. In November 2000, the body of a businessman, Fernando Betancur Sanchez, was found bearing signs of torture. A ransom of US$400,000 demanded for his release had already been paid. Foreigners, and especially oil workers, are a favorite target, particularly of the ELN.

The two guerrilla groups are not solely responsible for Colombia's startling kidnap statistics. Colombia's police say they have just dismantled one of the country's most sophisticated kidnapping rings. It had been operating for 11 years, snatching oil workers and tourists from the Amazon region of northern Ecuador and then shuttling them across the Colombian border. Experts say kidnappings in Colombia are unlikely to stop, as the rebels are reliant on ransom revenue to continue finance their "revolutionary struggle."

25 June 2001

COLOMBIA:

FARC Jailbreak Reported

Left-wing rebel prisoners at a high security jail managed to blast their way to freedom by blowing up a wall with dynamite. Five inmates were killed in a shootout with guards trying to stop them. It is not yet known how many prisoners escaped. Police said 30 have been recaptured. Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are believed to have staged the jailbreak to free their jailed comrades.

22 June 2001

COLOMBIA:

At Least 56 Dead In Clashes

The Colombian army said 56 people were killed in fierce clashes between government troops and left-wing rebels in the southern jungle region of Putumayo. Thirty soldiers and 26 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were killed after a rebel attack on an army base at Coreguaje. The FARC was said to be seeking to eliminate the military presence in the country's largest cocaine-producing province, to ensure the free transit of rebels and drug traffickers across the region.

Kidnapping Ring Busted

Police said they have broken up a sophisticated kidnapping ring which targeted foreigners working for multinational companies and demanded millions of dollars in ransom money. The police announced the arrest of 52 people in raids across the country after receiving information from the US Central Intelligence Agency. The kidnappers allegedly collected a US$13 million ransom payment for seven oil workers in Ecuador's Amazon region after killing an American captive in December. Four of the men arrested face extradition to the United States.

17 June 2001

COLOMBIA:

Prisoner Exchange Reported in Colombian Jungle

BOGOTA -- In what is being viewed by outside observors as an "unprecedented move," the Colombian government is believed to have released 11 FARC guerillas from a maximum security prison on Saturday, to be exchanged for twenty-nine (29) soldiers and police officers held by the insurgents. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerillas were released to a column of rebel forces in the government sanctioned FARC enclave. Goverment soldiers and police officers were said to be released to Red Cross and government troops in another area of the enclave. It is believed that this is the first time the government has released FARC prisoners in the history of Colombia's 37-year guerilla war. Few other details of the operation were immediately available...

13 June 2001

COLOMBIA:

FARC Guerrillas Kidnap Senator

Colombian lawmakers said that leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have kidnapped a senator of the opposition Liberal Party near the border with Ecuador. Senator Luis Eladio Perez was abducted on Sunday in the southwestern province of Narino along with a number of other people -- who later were freed. Perez was said to be the target of a failed kidnapping attempt two weeks ago. The FARC has not claimed responsibility for Perez's disappearance. Interior Minister Armando Estrada said security forces were investigating the kidnapping to determine if the FARC was really to blame...

02 June 2001

COLOMBIA:

Drug Kingpins Seized

The police said that in a joint operation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Colombian police on Friday arrested leaders of a key Bogotá-based drug trafficking ring believed to have shipped billions of dollars a year worth of cocaine and heroin to the United States. 

The three men arrested, nicknamed "The Doctor," "Cork" and "Old Man," allegedly moved up to 10.1 tons of cocaine and 44 pounds of heroin a month to the United States. The U.S. street value of the drug shipments was estimated at US$322 million a month, or US$3.86 billion a year.

National Police Chief Luis Ernesto Gilibert said the shipments were routed to the United States through Guatemala, Mexico, Jamaica and the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The police operation, dubbed "Blue Sky," stretched back two years and involved intelligence sharing with the U.S. DEA. It was the fifth crackdown on drug trafficking rings in Colombia this year... 

01 June 2001

COLOMBIA:

24 Villagers Reportedly Killed In New Rebel Rampage

Local officials said on Thursday that leftist guerrillas rampaged through a cluster of villages in northern Colombia over the weekend and killed at least 24 residents, hacking many of them to death with machetes and burning down homes. The death toll was not official, and based on accounts from family members of the victims who fled the massacre zone in Corboda state. Cordoba's governor's office blamed the Sunday and Monday attacks against three nearby villages on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Villagers said the victims were peasants intercepted by the guerrillas while out looking for firewood and food in the mountains. The region is also base for cultivating coca, the raw material for cocaine. Rebels and rightist paramilitary forces have been battling for months in the Tierralta region, where the attacks occurred.

30 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

U.S. Embassy Issues Warden Messages

On 25 May, U.S. Embassy Bogotá issued two separate Warden Messages. Text of first message: "Based on recent terrorist threats, all US Embassy employees are advised to avoid 'Salitre Plaza' shopping center in Bogotá. US Embassy employees are reminded to use extreme caution when visiting shopping centers and malls, particularly in major metropolitan areas, and to exercise enhanced security awareness, if it is necessary to visit these areas."

Text of second message: "In light of the recent bombings in Bogotá, the US Embassy advises all US citizens to avoid unnecessary travel within Bogotá and other metropolitan areas within Colombia. If travel is required, use extreme caution and exercise the highest security awareness possible."

26 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Bombs Explode In Bogota

Two bomb explosions in the Colombian capital of Bogota on Friday killed four people and injured about 20 more. Two of the bombs went off during the morning rush hour near the campus of the National University. Police bomb squads successfully deactivated a third device a short time later. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Authorities on Friday found and deactivated two small explosive devices near the US embassy and the attorney general's office in Bogota. Police said the two IEDs were metal tubes and hidden in a sewer near the US embassy and the offices of the attorney general by still unidentified perpetrators. Authorities declined to provide details about the bombs, saying only that they were small.

10:15CDT - 25 May 2001

Two Bombs Explode in Colombian Capital; At Least 4 Dead,  Dozens Wounded

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA (EmergencyNet News) -- Following a spate of car bombs that have been successfully disarmed (see story below in daily reports section), two bombs exploded today in Bogotá, killing at least four people and wounding dozens more. Today's explosions occurred during morning rush hour in the Colombian capital, including a device that was placed and exploded under a pedestrian walkway. That incident occurred near the campus of the National University. Few other specific details on the bombings are currently available. 

24 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Police Find Car Bombs In Barrancabermeja

In the latest in a string of car bombs to be found the South American country, police said they defused two car bombs in the violent oil refining city of Barrancabermeja on Thursday. A police spokesman said one bomb was found in a taxi parked near a school and another was detected in a car parked next to a bridge in the river port city of 250,000 people 140 miles north of the capital Bogota. So far there are no suspects. There is a heavy police and army presence in Barrancabermeja. The city was long a power base of the National Liberation Army (ELN). 

Troops To Soon Enter Cocaine Production Territory

At a ceremony attended by top U.S. military commanders and the U.S. ambassador, the last of three Colombian army anti-drug battalions to be trained by Green Berets has graduated. The battalion will soon be deployed in the jungles and coca fields of southern Colombia's Putumayo and Caqueta states, which together produce 60 percent of Colombia's cocaine and are teeming with leftist rebels and rival paramilitary forces who both earn huge profits by "taxing" cocaine producers.

23 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Police Defuse Car Bomb In Bogota

Police on Monday rendered safe a large car bomb outside the Bogota office of a communist magazine. The bomb was placed in a pick-up truck carrying oranges and bananas. Beneath the fruit, police found a U.S.-built MK-82 aviation bomb containing 50 pounds of TNT attached to a detonating device.

The truck-bomb was parked outside the office of the communist weekly magazine Voz, a traditional forum for comments and opinions by the leadership of the FARC leftist rebel group. Police were uncertain who planted the bomb, but "rightists" were suspected. On Monday, police increased security in the capital of seven million people, doubling patrols, patrolling with helicopters and increasing checks of vehicles at parking lots and entrances to shopping malls.

20 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Police Defuse Two More Car Bombs In Medellin

The police bomb squad in Medellin was kept busy with defusing two car bombs on Saturday. The bomb alerts came two days after a car bomb blast killed eight people and wounded 137 others. A police spokeswoman said the bombs were packed into a taxi and a stolen Hyundai car and parked in front of a District Attorney's office and a busy suburban metro station. Police denied local radio reports that they and army troops were searching for two more car bombs, one allegedly placed in the center of Medellin and the other in a city suburb.

On Thursday, a car bomb packed with 44 pounds of explosives went off in an upscale neighborhood in Medellin, spraying glass and debris at crowds gathered at cafes, restaurants and nightclubs bordering a park. As was reported by EmergencyNet News on Saturday, police have blamed the bombing on a feud between right-wing paramilitaries and criminal gangs (possibly linked to leftist drug organizations) in the city. It was the second bomb to explode in just 15 days in Colombia.

The revival of car bomb attacks has sparked fears of a repetition of the bombing campaign that terrorized Colombia in the late 1980s and early 1990s -- at the height of the wars against the Cali and Medellin drug cartels. In January, a powerful car bomb timed for rush hour exploded outside a shopping center in Medellin, killing one woman and injuring 50 others.

Thursday's blast, the deadliest in at least a year, came just hours after gunmen of the United Self Defenses of Colombia (AUC) -- an outlawed militia that targets leftist guerrillas -- killed execution style the leader of The Terrace, a notorious Medellin-based criminal gang. The surviving Terrace leaders threatened to turn over to the District Attorney's office evidence linking high-profile assassinations and kidnappings carried out by the gang on the orders of the AUC's leader, Carlos Castano. President Andres Pastrana has ordered 100 members of an elite police unit to Medellin to investigate the blast and prevent more attacks.

19 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Car Bombing Seen As Part Of Right-Wing Feud

A powerful car bomb that exploded in a crowded park in Medellin on Thursday, killing eight people and wounding 137, is being seen as part of a feud between right-wing paramilitaries and criminal gangs. General Tobias Duran, director of operations at the National Police, said: "All indications are that this is a retaliation stemming from a war between the AUC and criminal bands, specifically The Terrace band." Thursday's blast came hours after gunmen of the United Self Defenses of Colombia (AUC) killed execution-style the leader of The Terrace, a notorious Medellin-based criminal gang.

The 8,000-member AUC is locked in a bloody feud with The Terrace, its former ally in an unlikely alliance of drug traffickers, street criminals and anti-communist fighters, after AUC leader Carlos Castano ordered the killing of its leaders in what was believed to be a settling of scores. The surviving Terrace leaders then threatened to turn over to prosecutors evidence linking high-profile assassinations and kidnappings carried out by the gang on Castano's orders. Thursday's blast sparked fears of a repetition of the bloody bombing campaign in Colombia during the late 1980s and early 1990s -- at the height of the drug wars.

03:00CDT -18 May 2001

Car Bomb Kills Six, Fifty Wounded in Colombia

Medellin, Colombia (EmergencyNet News) -- At least six people were killed and another fifty people were wounded as a car bomb exploded in the well-to-do section of El Poblado in Medillin at about 22:00 (local time) last night, according to Medellin Police Chief Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro.  Emergency crews said many of the injured were in critical condition and local radio stations issued urgent calls for blood donors -- raising the possibility that the death toll could climb throughout the early morning hours, the Reuters news service said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack....

15 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Fighting Reportedly Leaves 44 Dead

The army said on Sunday that it had repelled a major offensive by leftist guerrillas in fighting that has left 41 rebels and three soldiers dead. The offensive in seven states, which involved more than 2,000 rebels, began on Friday, but fighting was still being reported on Sunday in Antioquia, Boyaca, and Norte de Santander states. The rebels were said to be on the retreat on those three fronts.

Most of the guerrillas killed were from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). During the fighting which had also broken out in the states of Quindio, Cesar, Casanare and Putumayo soldiers destroyed seven FARC camps, seized arms and captured 20 guerrillas.

07 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Security Forces Capture Right-Wing Leader

The armed forces have reportedly captured a right-wing paramilitary leader in a continuing crackdown on the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia (AUC). Dumar de Jesus Guerrero - AKA as "Mochacabezas," (Head-Chopper) - was captured in the capital, Bogota, on Sunday. Guerrero is believed to be the fourth-highest ranking figure in the 8,000-member paramilitary organization. The arrest follows the capture last week of about 60 suspected paramilitary fighters of the AUC, which was branded a terrorist organization the same day by the United States.

05 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

At Least 32 Wounded By Car Bomb In Cali

Emergency officials said at least 32 people were wounded when a powerful car bomb exploded at a luxury hotel in Cali on Friday night. Police and fire department officials said there were no confirmed fatalities, but added three victims, including a hotel security guard, were hospitalized in critical condition. The bomb went off at 1900 hours local time at the Hotel Torre de Cali and shattered windows in the first 20 floors of the 41-story building -- the tallest in the city.

Hotel guests were trapped for hours in levels above the flaming ruin of the first floor. Police said the bomb was made with 110 pounds of dynamite that was loaded inside a stolen pick-up truck. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the rush-hour attack, and the entire event remains under investigation...

01 May 2001

COLOMBIA:

Clashes Kill 20 

Twenty people have been reported killed in clashes between the army and left-wing rebels in the northwestern province of Antioquia. Army officials said 15 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) lost their lives. Five soldiers were also killed in the clash. Recently, the area has seen intense fighting between leftist rebels, outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups and government troops.

Meanwhile, the United States has announced that one paramilitary group, the Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC), is likely to be listed as a terrorist organization. But, unlike left-wing rebel movements, the right-wing paramilitaries are not perceived as a threat to US national security, and Washington is not expected to take any specific measures against them. The AUC, which has about 8,000 fighters, is believed to be responsible for the majority of the escalating killings which are plaguing the country... 

22 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

Military Arrests Drug Lord

The armed forces have reportedly captured Brazil's alleged top drug trafficker, after a manhunt in a jungle region close to the Brazilian border. Luis Fernando da Costa is accused of supplying weapons to left-wing rebels in Colombia in return for cocaine. He was captured on Saturday, two days after the plane in which he was traveling was forced to make an emergency landing by the Colombian air force.

The drug trafficker allegedly once controlled much of the narcotics trade in Rio de Janeiro, but moved his operations to Colombia after he escaped from a Brazilian prison in 1996. Colombian security forces had been searching for him since February when an army operation codenamed "black cat" uncovered a massive drug complex in the Colombian jungle near the Brazilian border. Several Brazilians were arrested at the site, but da Costa managed to get away and has been on the run ever since...

19 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

U.S. State Department Issues Updated Travel Warning

On 17 April, the U.S. Department of State issued the following updated Travel Warning for Colombia: 

"The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against travel to Colombia. Violence by narcotraffickers, guerrillas, illegal self-defense (paramilitary) groups and other criminal elements continues to affect all parts of the country, both urban and rural. Citizens of the United States and other countries continue to be the victims of threats, kidnappings, domestic airline hijackings and murders. Threats targeting American citizens are expected to continue and possibly increase in response to U.S. support for Colombian drug eradication programs. Colombian groups have been known to operate in the border areas of neighboring countries, creating similar dangers for travelers in those areas. U.S. citizens of all age groups and occupations, both tourists and residents, have been victimized. Bombings have occurred throughout Colombia, including in urban areas, and some foreign interests have been among the targets.

More than 3,000 people are kidnapped each year throughout Colombia, and there is a greater risk of being kidnapped in Colombia than in any other country in the world. In the past 20 years, nearly 120 American citizens have been kidnapped in both individual incidents and large group hostage situations. At least 14 American kidnapping victims have been murdered. Most kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Colombia have been committed by guerrilla groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), which were both designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Secretary of State in October 1997. Since it is U.S. policy not to pay ransom or make other concessions to terrorists, the U.S. Government's ability to assist kidnapped U.S. citizens is limited."

17 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

Kidnapped Oil Workers Freed; At Least 12 Still Captive

A few hours after kidnapping them, left-wing rebels released more than 70 employees of the US oil company Occidental Petroleum. An army spokesperson said the released workers were all in good health. At least 12 others are still being held by the rebels. The release came after the army launched a hot pursuit operation.

Military officials said a convoy of eight vehicles had been intercepted by rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) in the east of the country. The incident happened about ten miles outside the state capital, Arauca. The ELN has carried out mass abductions before to raise ransoms and to force concessions from the government. The Cano Limon field, operated jointly by Occidental and Colombia's Ecopetrol state oil company, has been inactive since February following more than 60 pipeline bombings this year. The ELN has long targeted the oil industry.

15 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

Massacre Reported In Southwest Colombia

According to officials, right-wing paramilitaries have killed at least 25 civilians in a remote area of southwest Colombia. The massacre occurred in the town of Alto Naya, southwest of Bogota, on Thursday. The paramilitaries, grouped under the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) are fighting Colombia's two leftist rebel groups, the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

11 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

Government Negotiator Threatened By Paramilitaries

As Colombia sends more soldiers to the north where 14 paramilitaries were killed by rebel bombs, right-wing paramilitary groups have threatened to kill the government's chief negotiator with leftist rebels. Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez said late Tuesday that the president's peace commissioner Camilo Gomez had received a death threat from the Self-Defense Units of Colombia. Gomez is currently involved in peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

Ramirez spoke after attending security council meeting called by President Pastrana in the northern port city of Cartagena to review with the country's top military brass the current climate of violence in northern Bolivar department, where paramilitary forces have been clashing with the FARC and ELN rebel groups for a week. After the meeting, 1,500 troops were dispatched to reinforce security forces in Bolivar. In one encounter on Tuesday, 14 paramilitaries were presumed killed when the truck they were riding in went over a mine field apparently set by rebels,

Government Orders Arrest Of Rebel Commander For Drugs

The government's prosecution service has for the first time ordered the arrest of a leftist rebel commander for drug trafficking in a move that apparently undercuts Colombia's line in peace talks that the guerrilla groups are not traffickers. The prosecution service ordered the detention of one Tomas Medina, a fugitive leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), based on evidence found in an army offensive against cocaine laboratories in February.

10 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

Dane Reported Kidnapped By Rebels

The Danish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that a Danish development aid worker has been held by rebels in Colombia since mid-March. News of the abduction, which occurred on March 17 or 18, had been withheld out of consideration for the victim, now identified as 46-year-old Erik Kjaersgaard Eriksen, who was working on a European Union development project. The foreign ministry gave no further details.

Danish media reported that Eriksens girlfriend had been released after being initially held along with him. There was speculation that the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) was behind the kidnapping. No details were available on where Eriksen was actually abducted.

08 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

Paramilitary Offensive Leaves 11 Dead

Authorities said on Saturday that at least 11 people were killed during an offensive by a paramilitary militia this week. Clashes between the right-wing paramilitary AUC and National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels began Tuesday when some 800 AUC fighters attacked guerrilla positions in the southern part of Bolivar State. At least seven guerrillas and four paramilitary fighters were killed in the fighting that ended on Friday.

The offensive near guerrilla base camps prevented ELN commanders from attending peace talks on Thursday with civilian negotiators. The fighting occurred just outside a 1,900 square-mile zone the government of President Andres Pastrana appears on the verge of temporarily ceding to the guerrillas to begin formal peace negotiations.

05 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

General Says Rebels Control Drug Trade

The commander of Colombia's army says there is hard proof that leftist rebels are controlling the country's massive drug trade. The announcement comes with a warning that members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) could therefore face extradition to and prosecution in the United States.

General Jorge Enrique Mora told a news conference: "We know that the FARC grow coca, that they deal with chemical precursors, they own drug laboratories and airstrips, that no drug trafficker operates without their permission and that they sell to international cocaine cartels. All this has been proved. All we need now is to find these FARC bandits selling cocaine in the streets of New York City."

Analysts call the statement a "political bombshell" which may undermine President Andres Pastrana and his peace process with the FARC. Analysts say the Colombian army - which has received over $1 billion in US military aid - is allegedly trying to wreck the peace process so it can engage the rebels in a head-on fight. Pastrana, who has been conducting a two-year peace process with the FARC, has until now declined to brand it a drug cartel, and says he will never negotiate with drug dealers.

Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez said: "If somebody is involved in drug trafficking, he is a drug trafficker and he faces being extradited to the US. If, as a defense, the drug trafficker says he is a guerrilla member, that is no excuse."

04 Apr 2001

COLOMBIA:

ELN Releases South Korean Hostage

The National Liberation Army (ELN) has freed a South Korean man whom they held for 56 days despite the payment of an undisclosed ransom. The former hostage, who has lived and worked in Cartagena for 12 years, was kidnapped along with 11 other people at an ELN roadblock. The ELN, like other rebel groups, uses kidnapping to finance its rebellion.

Weekend clashes between Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels and the outlawed Self-Defense Forces (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary group that targets rebels, resulted in the deaths of at least 35 people in the village of Puerto Libertador in the province of Cordoba.

28 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA:

Car Bomb Goes Off In Mariquita

Local police officials said that suspected members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) attempted to drive a car loaded with explosives to an air force base in Mariquita on Monday. Police were able to prevent the suspicious vehicle from getting to the base. The car exploded in an evacuated neighborhood, damaging numerous buildings. U.S. military personnel apparently operate at the air base, in which they train local pilots for anti-drug missions.

Authorities Confiscate Chems Used For Making Drugs

Security forces seized large amounts of chemicals used to process cocaine and heroin. Since the beginning of March, the army said it had arrested more than 300 people suspected of being linked to the illegal drug trade, and seized almost 70 vehicles. The operation has carried out with help from authorities in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela as well as the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

26 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA: 

Rightist Vrs. Leftist Clashes Continue; 16 Dead as Result

A wave of violence has left at least 16 people dead and four kidnapped. Eight people were killed in two separate attacks by right-wing paramilitaries, and another eight were killed by suspected guerrillas. Police said they captured six paramilitaries after one attack. Violent clashes between right and left-wing rebels over territorial control have increased in the wake of government plans to grant a demilitarized zone to the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group...

14 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA:

Gunmen Reportedly Assassinate Union Leaders For US Multinational Coal Firm

Authorities said on Tuesday that gunmen shot and killed two union leaders for US multinational coal mining firm Drummond Ltd. after dragging them out of a bus in northern Colombia. The execution-style killings of Valmore Locarno Rodriguez and Victor Orcasita -- the latest attacks against organized labor in Colombia -- occurred late on Monday near the town of Chiriguana, some 30 miles south of the Loma mine operated by Drummond in northern Cesar province.

Rodriguez and Orcasita were the president and vice president of Drummond's union. Police said it was not clear who was behind the assassination but said the area is thick with leftist guerrillas and outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups. Birmingham, Alabama-based Drummond has been targeted by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the past. FARC have demanded extortion payments and have carried out sabotage against the firm's railway lines.

13 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA:

FARC Rebels Want Ransom For Japanese Kidnap Victim

Leftist rebels have reportedly demanded a ransom for the Japanese businessman kidnapped at gunpoint in the capital Bogota two weeks ago. Police say that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have demanded US$5 million for executive Chikao Murmatso. As was previously reported by EmergencyNet News, armed men disguised as police stopped Murmatso's four-wheel drive vehicle and took him and his chauffeur prisoner. They later released the driver but sold Murmatso to the FARC for US$250,000.

11 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA:

Infrastructure Attack; At Least Six Marines Reportedly Killed By FARC 

Rebels killed six Colombian marines during an attack on a tele-communications plant in the southwest of the country. Reports said that 23 soldiers were wounded, and another 40 are still unaccounted for, in the attack by some 300 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Ministry of Defense said the guerrillas destroyed towers and antenna of the plant in an assault lasting at least eight hours. 

Japanese Business Executive Kidnapped In Bogota

The Kyodo news agency was reporting on Sunday that a 52-year-old Japanese businessman was kidnapped on 22 February on the outskirts of Bogota. According to officials of major auto-parts maker Yazaki Corp, the kidnappers have demanded some US$8 million in ransom for the release of Chikao Muramatsu, vice president of Yazaki's locally based joint venture. Muramatsu, who was kidnapped with his driver north of Bogota while returning home from work. The driver wasreleased within hours of the abduction and reported the incident. 

Muramatsu's car was stopped by at least eight kidnappers disguised as policemen. They were reportedly traveling in three cars. A wire service report quoted police as saying a group of armed men handed Muramatsu over to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who in turn demanded the ransom.

The following is the U.S. State Department profile of FARC:

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

Description: Colombia's oldest, largest, most capable, and best equipped insurgency. Established in 1964 nominally as military wing of Colombian Communist Party. Organized along military lines and includes several urban fronts. Has been anti-US since its inception.

Activities: Bombings, murders, kidnappings, extortion, hijackings, as well as armed insurgent attacks against Colombian political, military, and economic targets. In March 1999 the FARC brutally murdered three US Indian rights activists on Venezuelan territory whom they had kidnapped in Colombia. Foreign citizens often are targets of FARC kidnappings for ransom. Has well-documented ties to narcotics traffickers, principally through the provision of armed protection. During 1999 continued its bombing campaign against oil pipelines.

Strength: Approximately 8,000 to 12,000 armed combatants, and an unknown number of supporters, mostly in rural areas. [ERRI Note: Our most current estimates would suggest larger numbers of guerillas than those presented.]

Location/Area of Operation: Colombia with increasing presence and operations in Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, and Brazil. 

External Aid: Cuba has provided some medical care and political consultation in the past.

10 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA:

Red Cross To Suspend Medical Evacuations Of Rebels

After rightist paramilitary fighters dragged an injured guerrilla from an ambulance and executed him, the International Red Cross suspended evacuations of wounded fighters for the second time in six months on Friday. A Red Cross ambulance was transporting the wounded guerrilla from a clash in northern Santander State on Tuesday when they were forced to stop and hand him over. The body was found the next day by the side of the road.

Georges Comninos, head of the Red Cross delegation Colombia, said on Friday: "We will not rescue combatants nor civilians who are injured in Colombian combat. The suffering of those injured will be increased greatly, but we can no longer afford to place our officials, or the injured victims they are trying to rescue, in danger." 

Comninos said no International Red Cross official had ever been hurt or killed in a combat-area attack in Colombia, but his organization had an obligation to suspend its combat-area rescue missions "so that everyone fighting in this conflict understands how grave the situation has gotten here." He added that evacuations would not resume "until we get guarantees from all involved in this conflict that our employees and our victims will be safe."

Tuesday's attack was the fourth since September on Red Cross ambulances showing that even humanitarian workers cannot escape the fighting pitting leftist guerrillas against the Colombian army and right-wing paramilitary groups.

06 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA:

At Least 20 Dead in Clashes in N.W. Colombia

At least 20 people have been killed during clashes between leftist guerrillas and paramilitary groups in the north-west of Colombia. The fighting between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the outlawed Self-Defense Forces (AUC) took place after the rebels attacked the village of El Prodigio, 45 miles south of Medellin. A local official said the number of dead could be higher, as the continued fighting prevented emergency workers from reaching the area...

03 Mar 2001

COLOMBIA:

Infrastructure Attack: Large Areas Of Country Without Power Because Of Pylon Bombing

Officials said that a terrorist bomb destroyed a high-voltage pylon in a war-torn region of Colombia on Thursday, leaving vast areas in the country's central, western and southern regions without power for five hours. The power outage affected eight of Colombia's 32 departments, blacking out momentarily at least two major cities, including Medellin.

Colombia's Energy Minister blamed the attack on "terrorist groups." He however declined to pin blame for the attack on any one group. The leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) frequently attacks the South American nation's energy and electric infrastructure. The outage, which lasted from about 1255 until 1700 hours local time, affected the central regions of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindio. There were also reports of outages in the southwestern provinces of Putumayo and Narino.

With 12,000 energy pylons and nearly 5,000 miles of high- and medium-voltage lines, Colombia's network is one of the most extensive in Latin America. But a sabotage campaign has taken its toll on the network. Since 1999, 430 towers have been blown up by rebels.

Rebels Release Hostage

Saying they were satisfied that she and her father had no links to a rival right-wing paramilitary group, leftist guerrillas freed the daughter of a powerful Colombian business leader on Friday. Juliana Villegas was abducted on 28 November near a Bogota university where she studied. She was released in southeastern Huila province. The 18-year-old young woman was said to be in good health. Her father, Luis Carlos Villegas, president of the powerful National Association of Industries, said he had paid no ransom for his daughter.

For months, leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had denied they were holding Villegas. But in a statement read Friday from a FARC-controlled southern demilitarized zone, a commander calling himself "Antonio" acknowledged the rebels had Villegas and described her release as a "humanitarian gesture" for peace. The rebel commander also denied having received any ransom from the family.

22 Feb 2001

COLOMBIA

Clashes Kill At Least 30

Officials said on Wednesday that at least 30 people have been killed in clashes between leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups in a war-torn corner of the Andes mountains. The toll from the fighting near the remote town of Santa Rita de Ituango, some 155 miles northwest of the capital Bogota, is the heaviest in the last seven months. 

A Santa Rita official said most of the dead were believed to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and their bitter enemies, the outlawed United Self-Defense Forces (AUC). But he said that at least one civilian woman had been killed in the clashes, which occurred on Tuesday.

Drug War Escalates

It was being reported on Thursday that pilots supplied by the United States to support anti-drug efforts in Colombia were involved in a clash with rebels during a crop-spraying mission last Sunday. The incident began when a police helicopter supporting the US-backed aerial fumigation program was shot down by leftist guerrillas in the southern province of Caqueta.

The crew of the downed aircraft were rescued by other helicopter gunships, some piloted by American citizens contracted by the US State Department. Analysts say the incident is likely to fuel allegations by the rebels that the US is directing the anti-drug offensive in violation of Colombian sovereignty.

21 Feb 2001

COLOMBIA:

Botched Helicopter Attempt To Bomb Jail

Police said that two men attempting to bomb a prison from a helicopter on Tuesday accidentally dropped 220 pounds of TNT on a nearby residential neighborhood but the explosives did not detonate. The men were trying to drop the explosives, in two bags, on the prison of Vistahermosa in Cali, in what appeared to be an effort to free inmates. But the explosives landed some 165 feet from the prison in the southwestern neighborhood. Nobody was injured.

The men abandoned the helicopter in a field and fled in a car. EOD experts deactivated the bombs. It was not immediately known who was behind the attack but the prison is filled with leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary gangs and drug traffickers.

On Monday, rebels bombed the walls of a village prison in southern Colombia, freeing all 19 inmates, including two rebels, in an attack that left one guard injured. Colombia has 168 notoriously crowed prisons, many of them located within city limits and surrounded by residential zones.

Bogota Military Academy Attacked

Four people were wounded and some damage was reported when mortar rounds launched from pickup trucks struck Colombia's military academy on Tuesday night. The two mortars fashioned from propane gas cylinders that hit the Jose Maria Cordoba academy in northeast Bogota are typically used by leftist guerrillas battling the government. However, authorities did not immediately assign blame for the attack.

Officials said that three mortars were fired at the building from two pickup trucks parked on a nearby corner. Two of them exploded against the school's walls, and one landed harmlessly on the street. The wounded, all with minor injuries, were passers-by. The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) recently pledged to begin curtailing the use of the homemade mortars in civilian areas. Obviously, the perpetrators in Tuesday's attack didn't get the word regarding the alleged change in tactics...if it was ever issued...

20 Feb 2001

COLOMBIA:

Medellin Is Still Colombia's City Of Violence

Colombia's second city of Medellin has again been declared as the most dangerous in the Western Hemisphere. Since the city became synonymous with drugs and the trafficker, Pablo Escobar, it has consistently been the most dangerous place in the Americas.

According to a report just released by the Department of Criminal Investigations and Judicial Support, last year in the city of two million there were almost 4,000 violent deaths. While Escobar, the legendary head of the Menagin drug cartel, was killed in a hail of bullets during a shootout with police in 1993, he left a violent legacy which haunts the city today.

Escobar created an army of "sicarios" or hitmen, drawn from the poor neighborhoods in the outer reaches of the city. The sicario philosophy was that it was better to live fast and die young, and Escobar gave money to these desperate men and sent them out to do his dirty work killing rival drug dealers, politicians, judges, policemen or anyone who crossed his path. He even promised a bounty of US$2,000 for every policeman killed and his sicarios swarmed out of their strongholds and executed more than 300.

The sicarios still exist but are now guns for hire, and one of the reasons the murder rate is so high at the moment is because one of the most notorious sicario gangs, known as La Terraza (The Terrace, after a part of Medellin in which it was born), is in a fight to the death with its former paymaster, a feared right-wing paramilitary. Bombs have been going off around the city and assassinations are commonplace.

Added to this already violent mix is the battle between street gangs, paramilitaries and guerrilla militias in the city. City authorities, in an attempt to decrease the violence, have decreed that all clubs and bars must be closed by midnight on weekdays and 01:00 hours on weekends, and have prohibited the carrying of arms. Nobody is expecting the measures to make a huge impact on the murder rate, but they are unlikely to make things any worse.

22:40EST/21:40CST - 30 Jan 2001

Hijacking Ended; Perpetrator Overcome By Pilot and Passengers

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA -- According to airport officials, the hijacking of a Satena airlines plane has ended as the pilot and passengers of the plane have overcome the gunman who took them hostage. All passengers and crew are reported safe and the perpetrator has been arrested, a police spokesman said.  The identity and motive of the hijacker have still not been established, and the entire incident remains under investigation.

*****

21:15CST/22:15 EST - Tuesday, January 30, 2001

COLOMBIAN AIRLINER HIJACKED

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA -- Police in the Colombian capital of Bogotá say that a so-far unidentified gunman has hijacked a commuter aircraft carrying 32 people on a flight from a guerrilla base in southeast Colombia to Bogotá. Television news coverage showed three people being released and departing the plane after it landed in Bogotá; a woman, a girl, and a man who was carried off on a stretcher.

Authorities said that the hijacker was a "rebel defector," but the FARC rebels have denied involvement. An FARC spokesman said on Tuesday evening: "This is not an act by the FARC."

The ill-fated plane, reportedly belongs to the Colombian domestic carrier SATENA.  It was carrying  27 passengers and five crew, and was on the ground at the airport in San Vicente del Caguan, in southern jungle country, when a man pulled out a handgun and demanded the pilot fly to the capital -- its original destination. 

According to the Reuters news service, Pastrana named national security advisor Gonzalo de Francisco to negotiate via radio with the hijacker for the release of the rest of the passengers. Local media also said the man had demanded another plane to fly him out of the country, but aviation and government officials could not immediately confirm those reports. As night fell, the German-made Dornier 1165 airplane sat on the tarmac as police and rescue workers maintained a watch. 

The ERRI Watch Center continues to monitor this ongoing situation and will disseminate additional reports as needed. 

28 Jan 2001

COLOMBIA:

Ten Dead In Latest Massacre

Police said that gunmen killed at least ten people and wounded five others in a northern town on Sunday. The gunmen attacked the town of Hato Nuevo, 445 miles north of Bogota near the Venezuelan border. Details were sketchy, and it wasn't immediately clear who was responsible. The area in the state of La Guajira is swarming with paramilitary fighters and combatants from the nation's two main rebel armies.

25 Jan 2001

COLOMBIA:

Colombian Troops Reported On State Of Alert

Colombian army troops were reportedly on alert near a rebel safe haven on Wednesday and more reinforcements were sent to the area, just days before the scheduled end to the so-called "demilitarized zone." Hundreds of rebel soldiers also have been seen mobilizing in the area, a chunk of land in southern Colombia twice the size of New Jersey.

President Andres Pastrana ceded the zone to rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) two years ago to kick-start peace talks and have a site for them to take place. He must decide by 31 January whether to renew the FARC's control over the zone, as he has done several times. But the FARC suspended talks in November, and with no sign that either side will make concessions. Colombia's military is now preparing for a possible escalation of fighting in the 37-year civil war.

Light armored vehicles were seen in the streets of the town of Puerto Rico, an hour's drive from the main town in the zone, San Vicente del Caguan. The army has been building up its presence outside the borders of the zone. FARC rebels are believed to be preparing for battle as well.  Pastrana is reportedly cutting short a trip to Europe because of the crisis and was due to return to Colombia on Sunday.  The real question that remains is whether or not negotiations can pull the government and guerillas back from the brink of a real shooting war...

18 Jan 2001

COLOMBIA:

25 Men Believed Hacked To Death In Northern Colombia

Police said that 25 men were hacked to death by suspected right-wing paramilitary gunmen with machetes in northern Colombia on Wednesday before dozens of homes were burned to the ground. Survivors told police that about 50 heavily armed men dressed in military uniforms converged on the town of Chengue at about 03:00 hours local time Wednesday and rounded up 25 villagers they accused of working with leftist guerrillas. The victims, all men between the ages of 22 and 65, were removed from their homes, surrounded and killed with machete blows. The attackers apparently accused the men of working with leftist guerrilla groups. The attackers then set fire to about 30 homes in the village and took off with seven other men as hostages. Witnesses told police that the attackers were members of right-wing paramilitary groups, but police couldn't confirm those reports...

12/13 Jan 2001

INSTANT   - 09:00CST - 13 Jan 2001

ECUADOR:

Colombian Rebels, Paramilitary Battle In Ecuador

Ecuadorian defense ministry sources said on Friday that Colombian rebels and right-wing paramilitary forces battled outside a small town in Ecuador's Amazon jungle, the first clash between the two in Ecuadorean territory. The incident left two Colombians dead, but Ecuador's military did not say which side they were on.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and paramilitary fighters clashed at 1415 hours local time on Thursday. Ecuadorian troops were not involved in the clash. The military high command declined to provide details beyond a two-paragraph statement. The fighting occurred one day after Ecuadorian officers discovered an abandoned guerrilla camp about five miles over the border from Colombia, with a hut, trenches, military uniforms and backpacks, that several local officials said belonged to the FARC.

There are reportedly widespread fears among several S. American countries that Colombia's U.S.-backed plan to combat drug trafficking may push rebels and paramilitary groups, believed to finance their activities through the narcotics trade, across the various borders.  

12 Jan 2001 

ECUADOR:

Possible Colombian Rebel Camp Discovered

Ecuadorian military sources said on Thursday that it is believed that government troops found an abandoned Colombian guerrilla camp in its jungle, fueling fears leftist rebels from its northern neighbor may be operating across the border. The makeshift camp on Ecuador's side of the Putumayo region in the Amazon jungle had a hut, made in a way that indicated it was built by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

A source in the intelligence unit of the Ecuadorian military high command said: "We found a small encampment, where members of the FARC may have been." There are no Ecuadorian guerrilla groups. But there are widespread fears Colombia's U.S.-backed plan to combat drug trafficking may push rebels and paramilitary groups, who are believed to finance their fighting from the narcotics trade, across the roughly 370-mile shared border.

11 Jan 2001

COLOMBIA:

Army Rescues 56, Rebels Kidnap 13

Police and army officials said on Wednesday that helicopter-borne government troops rescued 56 hostages from leftist rebels but the rebel group struck back, kidnapping 13 other people including five policemen in another area. The National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia's second largest leftist rebel force, took 56 people prisoner at a roadblock outside the mountain town of Barbosa on Tuesday. 

But government forces, reinforced by soldiers ferried in by helicopters, attacked the rebel band a few hours later, freeing the hostages. One guerrilla was killed in the attack in the western Andean department of Antioquia. But ELN forces captured five policemen and eight civilians at a roadblock near Valledupar, in lowland cattle country in northern Colombia.

10 Jan 2000

COLOMBIA:

Continued Violence Leaves 38 Dead

At least 38 people lost their lives on Tuesday even as newspapers reported the nation's largest leftist guerrilla group was preparing a major prisoner release to revive peace talks with the government. The army and police clashed with members of the country's second largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and suspected right-wing paramilitaries staged six separate attacks on rural towns, killing 25 civilians.

In a communiqué, the army said that soldiers killed ten ELN guerrillas during a firefight, in which a soldier also died, in the mountainous coffee-producing department of Caldas in central Colombia. In another clash, the ELN ambushed and shot two policemen outside the town of Valdivia, further north in the Andean region of Antioquia.

Suspected right-wing paramilitary fighters shot a total of 25 civilians in six separate attacks on rural towns in different arts of the country. The paramilitaries often kill people they suspect of collaborating with leftist rebels.

Car Bomb Explodes In Colombian Mall

One person was killed and 50 others were wounded when a car bomb went off in a parking lot of a busy shopping mall in Medellin on Wednesday. General Tobias Duran, national police operations director said that investigators did not know who was responsible for the blast. The injured included a 9-month old baby and a pregnant woman. Several people were in serious condition.

The bomb exploded at 1940 hours local time, a busy time at the northwestern city's new El Tesoro mall. A fire service official said: "This was a terrorist attack in the car park ... there were a lot of explosives."

While the country's guerrilla groups always come under immediate suspicion in acts of violence, Colombian criminals are also notorious for their violent methods of extorting protection money.

06 Jan 2001

COLOMBIA: 

Twelve Dead In Second Massacre In Two Days

According to police, gunmen killed at least 12 people on Friday in a mountainous region of northwestern Colombia where leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries are fighting for territorial control. The killing, the second in the area in two days, happened between the towns of El Penol and Guatape in the department of Antioquia. Police blamed paramilitaries for killing 11 people on Wednesday near the town of Yolombo but did not know who was responsible for Friday's attack. Several shotgun-toting men in combat uniforms went from house to house killing suspected collaborators with rival groups. 

05 Jan 2001

COLOMBIA:

Eleven Killed In Alleged Massacre

Police said on Thursday that suspected far-right paramilitaries killed 11 people in a northwestern Colombian region in the first massacre of the new year. Police in Bogota said the victims were fatally shot in Wednesday's attack in a rural area near the town of Yolombo, in the department of Antioquia, which is the scene of frequent battles between paramilitaries and leftist guerrillas for territorial control.

The secretary of the Yolombo government blamed the massacre on paramilitaries. Police said there were unconfirmed reports that the killing  was the result of a clash with guerrillas from the main leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group.

Infrastructure Attacks...

Some ten municipalities in Antioquia remained without power on Thursday after attacks by the FARC on electricity pylons which have cut off power to around 14 towns in the past two weeks. Local officials say the worst affected area is Uraba, the country's main banana-producing area. 

30 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA:

Congressman Assassinated, FARC Blamed

In an apparent ambush that police blamed on the country's biggest rebel group, the FARC, the president of the peace commission of Colombia's lower house of Congress and five other people were killed on Friday. The murder -- the most high profile in more than a year in Colombia -- was expected to deal a blow to the stuttering peace process under way with the leftist guerrilla group.

Diego Turbay, age 47, a member of the opposition Liberal party, his mother, three bodyguards and a journalist were killed as they were traveling to the swearing-in of a local mayor in a southern jungle area where attacks by guerrillas and far-right paramilitary death squads are frequent.

Turbay and his companions were traveling in a green armored vehicle from the town of Florencia, capital of the department of Caqueta, to the village of Puerto Rico on Friday morning. One witness to the attack said: "They got them out of the car, made them lie face down on the ground and delivered a 'coup de grace' in the head."

Turbay headed the peace commission in the Chamber of Representatives that seeks to foster dialogue between the government and rebels, working in parallel to a government department that conducts actual peace negotiations. Turbay's brother was taken hostage by the FARC in 1996 and later drowned when the rebel group was transporting him across a flooded river.

Colombia Reportedly Breaks Its Own World Kidnapping Record

According to a report from a private monitoring group, Colombia, already known as the kidnapping capital of the world, set a new record this year with more than 3,000 abductions. The South American country has an average of more than nine reported abductions each day, mainly by leftist guerrillas and criminals seeking ransoms. The report, issued on Wednesday by the private Free Country foundation, said at least 3,029 people were kidnapped through November, compared to 2,757 during all of 1999. Many cases are never reported to monitoring groups or authorities.

The total was brought up by mass abductions -- such as a September raid by the National Liberation Army (ELN) which seized about 80 people from a strip of roadside restaurants near Cali. According to Free Country, the ELN was responsible for 27 percent of the year's reported abductions. The nation's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was responsible for 24 percent. The rightist paramilitary militias of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) was accused of eight percent of abductions.

David Buitrago, an analyst with Free Country, said that kidnappings are on the rise partly because of the enormous ransoms the armed groups have gotten for their victims. Most of those kidnapped were Colombian, although at least 36 foreigners were snatched...

29 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA:

Gunmen Abduct Eight People

Gunmen placed a roadblock on a bridge in northern Colombia on Wednesday and kidnapped eight people from their vehicles, including a small town mayor. National Police General Alfredo Salgado blamed the mass abduction in Bosconia, a town in Cesar State located 320 miles from Bogota, on a guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN).

But police anti-kidnapping chief Colonel Leonardo Gallego said it was not yet clear whether the ELN was involved. He said some eyewitnesses had accused the rebels. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the ELN. The group reportedly has a strong presence in Cesar...

23 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA:

Rebels Free 45 Hostages For Christmas

In what is being considered a Christmas goodwill gesture that government officials said was a concrete step toward full-scale peace talks, Colombia's second-largest leftist guerrilla group freed 42 policemen and soldiers on Saturday. The presidential press service ANCOL said the first group of released officers had been handed over to President Andres Pastrana's peace commissioner, Camilo Gomez, in a remote jungle hamlet northeast of the capital, Bogota.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) had promised to release 45 policemen and soldiers it captured in combat two years ago. It was not immediately clear when the others would be freed. The rebels' show of seasonal goodwill -- with no strings attached -- has been widely welcomed. The move is thought to be part of a ELN ploy to obtain their own exclusive "enclave" similar to that granted to the FARC organization...

22 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA:

Gunmen Kill Ten People

Ten people were reported killed when gunmen wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying a hit list entered a village in southwestern Colombia on Thursday. Witnesses said they believed the killers were members of a right-wing paramilitary squad.

Four of the victims were in a billiard hall when they were grabbed by the gunmen and then shot execution style. Five others were killed elsewhere in San Pedro, a community of 25 families located 200 miles southwest of the capital, Bogota. Three other people were wounded, including a woman who died while being taken to the nearby town of Santander de Quilachao.

Rebels Reportedly To Free 45 Hostages For Christmas

In what is seen by many as a sign of Christmas goodwill, Colombia's leftist rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) said on Thursday it would in the next few days free 45 soldiers and policemen being held hostage. The 45 officers were captured in combat or clashes in ELN-controlled areas, and are expected to be freed in good health.

The ELN made no demands in exchange for their release -- a gesture analysts said could help foster the start of peace talks with the government. The two sides have held informal contacts for about a year. Government sources said the hostages had been held for almost two years.

21 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA:

Kidnap Ordeal Ends For Two British Nationals

Officials said on Wednesday that two British nationals who were kidnapped in March while hunting for wild orchids in a tense jungle area have been released unhurt. A spokesman for the British embassy said a park ranger near the Panamanian border had telephoned to say Paul Winder, age 29, and 24-year-old Tom Hart Dyke had been found.

The two were reported missing in early March while trekking in the jungle area where left-wing guerrillas and ultra-right paramilitaries are active. The zone is on a major drug and weapons trafficking route and is considered very dangerous. The embassy had no details of whether a ransom was paid for the two victims.

16 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA:

Top Labor Leader Shot

Authorities said that suspected right-wing gunmen shot and wounded one of Colombia's top labor leaders on Friday in a botched assassination attempt in which at least two people were killed. The high-profile attack against Wilson Borja, head of Colombia's 700,000-strong public sector workers' union Fenaltrase, was the latest targeting organized labor in Colombia.

Police said three assailants brandishing automatic assault rifles opened fire on Borja -- a member of the central committee of Colombia's small Communist Party -- as he left his home in a district of Bogota in an all-terrain vehicle. One of Borja's bodyguards, who was shot in the face, managed to return the gunmen's fire and a woman street vendor was killed in the shootout.

Police said the car the gunmen fired from was found abandoned about six blocks from the scene of the attack, with a corpse lying alongside it. It was not immediately clear if the dead man was one of the trio of would-be assassins or a passerby killed so they could avoid being identified. Borja, who was shot in the right leg, collarbone and nicked by a bullet that grazed his scalp, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was listed in stable condition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Borja, who has led six strikes against government economic policy since President Andres Pastrana took office in 1998, had complained to the authorities of receiving a series of death threats since September. The Communist Party is loosely allied to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

09 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA: 

Rebel Attack Leaves 29 Dead

In what is seen as yet another escalation in an on-going guerilla war, a rebel bomb attack destroyed several blocks in a town in western Colombia. At least 29 people were reported killed by the blast. The death toll from the Wednesday night attack by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the town of Granada, 125 miles northwest of Bogota was expected to rise after officials search through the rubble. Fifteen other people were wounded in the attack which lasted for 18 hours into Thursday.

Some 400 FARC guerrillas entered the town during the attack and set off a car bomb and other explosives, destroying 200 homes and damaging 120 others in the town of 20,000 inhabitants. The attack focused on the local police and at least three officers were among the dead. Survivors said the FARC's attack appeared to be motivated by the presence in Granada of members of the right-wing paramilitary United Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

06 Dec 2000

COLOMBIA: It was reported that one of President Pastrana's former ministers, Fernando Perdomo, was kidnapped in Cartagena on Monday night. Perdomo was in a tourist section of town when he was abducted by five men who forced him into a green van. Police are not yet certain who is responsible for the kidnapping. Perdomo served as the Economic Development Minister between 1998 and 1999.

16:00CST - 01 Dec 2000

State Department Official Says Bombs Were Not An Attempt on U.S. Diplomats

WASHINGTON, DC (Emergencynet News) -- In apparent contradiction to earlier reports, State Department spokesman Philip Reeker today told the Associated Press that there was not an assassination attempt on the Sen. Wellstone and Amb. Patterson and implied that the party never came within a mile of the area where the device was found. "There was not _ I repeat, not _ an assassination attempt made against Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and our ambassador to Colombia, Anne Patterson," Reeker reportedly said. Colombian police, however, said that it was not immediately clear how U.S. diplomatic authorities had reached the conclusion that the U.S. delegation was not a target. A suspect, Bernardo Alvarez Duarte, who was arrested at the scene where two bombs were found, has so far refused to cooperate with authorities. The entire situation remains under investigation...

*****

11:00CST - 01 Dec 2000

Assassination Attempt on U.S. Senator and Ambassador

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA (EmergencyNet News) -- Sketchy information is coming in that Colombian police units have thwarted what appeared to be an attempted assassination attempt on the lives of Paul Wel