Terror Execution
Marxist Guerrillas Defy Government, U.S. Efforts
May 7, 2003
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
Local government troops and their American advisors are frustrated in their attempts to defeat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a communist guerrilla force leading a rebellion which has cost 200,000 lives during nearly forty years of combat in the South American nation.
The FARC is reported to have links with several sponsors of terror, including Cuba and Iran.
While the FARC rebellion began in the days of Cuban revolutionary leader Ché Guevara, the Marxist struggle in Colombia now reflects the growing orientation in Latin America toward Marxist economic and social engineering.
The latest atrocity perpetrated in the civil war involves the execution of a former governor and an ex-defense minister, along with eight hostages, carried out by the FARC, according to a report from French news daily, Le Figaro.
The executions occured as the Colombian army sought to mount a rescue attempt.
Ironically, the murdered ex-governor, Guillermo Gaviria of the Medellin district, was known for advocating a non-violent approach to resolving Colombia's civil war.
A Colombian army raid discovered the execution scene, but failed to locate any rebel fighters. A Medellin radio station later broadcasted a message reportedly from FARC representatives, stating that the ten were executed in retribution for army attacks, stated Le Figaro.
The FARC regularly delivers its messages through couriers or an Internet site.
Some 900 people remain hostage to the FARC, among them are three CIA operatives, an ex-presidential candidate, 47 local army officers, and hundreds of civilians.
The FARC is not operating alone in its struggle. The Colombian government insists that both Cuba and neighboring Venezuela are assisting the Marxist rebels, who are their ideological comrades-in-arms.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA), among other terror groups, is reported to be assisting FARC urban guerrillas in the use of explosives. Colombia's capital, Bogota, came under recent attack, and appeared to give deadly testimony to the effectiveness of the urban warfare training. An April, 2001 the majority report of the U.S. House International Relations Committee warned of an IRA/FARC link, and its implications for future violence.
The guerrillas are known to be well funded. The Committee report estimated FARC income from illegal drug production and sales to be at the time as much as two million dollars per day.
The FARC is joined in its rebellion against the Colombian government by a smaller but ideologically similar group, the National Liberation Army (ELN).
As the FARC and ELN continue their decades-long rebellion, other nations of South America are finding Marxist ideology increasingly acceptable.
On January 1, 2003, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, an advocate of Cuban-style economics and government, took office in Brazil, the largest nation in Latin America. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has declared that North Korea is a "model to follow," according to the opposition Internet site Militares Democraticos.
Both da Silva and Chavez have expressed their admiration and support for Marxist ideologue Fidel Castro, while Havana continues to gain acceptance throughout the South American continent.
Copyright 2003
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