COLOMBIA: Santos Threatens To Expel Multinational Ransom Payers.

BBC /

    Three days after 23 men working for Canada's Talisman Energy were kidnapped by FARC rebels with 22  rescued, President Santos warns he will expel multinational companies who pay ransom money for kidnapped employees' releases.
    Talisman Energy denied paying a ransom and said it always followed Colombian law.
   Some of the Talisman employees reported hearing of a 5,000 million pesos/ $2.62m deal allegedly made by the company with the FARC.
   "We can't allow anyone to keep feeding these bandits, because the only thing they're going to do with the money is create more violence and insecurity," said Santos.

COLOMBIA: 22 of 23 Oil Workers Kidnapped By FARC ...Are Rescued.

LATIMES/

    Twenty-two of 23 oil contractors kidnapped by FARC rebels yesterday in Vichada province...have been rescued by the military.
    They are Colombian nationals working for Canada's Talisman Energy.
   The kidnappings occurred near the village of Puerto Principe, about 450 miles east of Bogota.
   Their overnight rescue operation was code-named Minotaur.
   Colombia is currently undergoing a boom in oil and mining investments.

SPAIN/VENEZUELA: Chavez Refuses To Extradite Alleged Top Basque/ETA Militant.

C.S.MONITOR/

           Relations are strained between Spain and Hugo Chavez. Chavez refuses to extradite Arturo Cubillas, Latin America's alleged top Basque separatist, because of local laws. A Spaniard, Mr. Cubillas also became a naturalized citizen of Venezuela in 1993.

         “This is a critical moment, and this could put Chávez in the eye of the hurricane in terms of international terrorism. Venezuela could be considered a refuge and nest of international terrorists and that is serious,” says think tanker Vicente Palacio. “The Spanish government will try to solve this discreetly if Venezuela is more helpful. But Chávez has made this into a state affair.”

COLOMBIA: FARC Female Rebel Captivates Dutch.

NYTIMES/ SIMON ROMERO/     A female FARC rebel fighting under the name of Alexandra is getting attention in Colombia and in her nation of origin, the Netherlands. “She’s one of the most fascinating figures in our long war, present at many of its critical junctures over the last decade,” said author and former rebel León Valencia of Tanja Nijmeijer, 32. A new book and documentary claim that Alexandra is assistant to the FARC leader. Her diary was discovered in a raid in 2007 with details about rebel life. “Tanja joined the FARC with romantic ideals in mind, and now she is trapped,” claims the book's author Liduine Zumpolle.

COLOMBIA:UPDATE: Soldier Released By FARC Was Shot 5 Times In Captivity.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/ UPDATE: 29 Marzo/    The FARC released their first hostage in a year. They handed over Corporal Josue Daniel Calvo to Red Cross workers accompanied by Brasilian troops, who flew him by helicopter to the city of Villavicencio. Calvo was reported to have been shot 5 times by his captors and suffered two bouts of malaria curing his captivity.

COLOMBIA:UPDATE: Buenaventura Car Bomb Kills 9, Injures 59. $150K Reward Offered. FARC Suspected.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/ 26 MARZO UPDATE/ The large car bomb that exploded in front of the mayor's office in the Pacific port city of Buenaventura killed 9 and injured 59. Police are offering a $150,000 USD reward for the culprits but FARC is considered the most likely suspect. Also, each victim will receive $10,000 compensation from the government.

COLOMBIA: Blocked From Third Term, Uribe's Legacy Is Examined.

MIAMI HERALD/ ANALYSIS/ SIBYLLA BRODZINSKY/   The end of the 'Uribe era" began after a constitutional court ruled a proposed third term referendum illegal. It began in 2002 with Uribe's goal to rid his nation of leftist rebels and retake lawless regions and ended with success, more or less, against the FARC rebels. Barred from ever seeking the presidency again, the 57-year-old lawyer now says he might begin a university or start an Internet news site.

VENEZUELA: Spain Furious Over Alleged Chavez/ ETA Terrorist Link .

GUARDIAN.UK/   A Spanish judge has accused President Hugo Chávez's government of involvement with the Basque terrorist group ETA. Magistrate Eloy Velasco found that the Chávez government acted as an intermediary between ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group. Velasco issued international arrest warrants for 6 alleged ETA members and 7 Colombians believed to be members of Farc. Spain's Prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero called for an immediate explanation from Venezuela.

COLOMBIA: FARC Planting New Landmines Even As Clearing Them Continues.

GLOBAL POST/
Colombia is one of the most mined countries in the world. Between 1990 and this past October, there were at least 8,081 victims from explosive devices. And FARC rebels are increasing landmines use. “We’re clearing mines at the same time as more are being planted in other parts of the country. We’re attending to victims at the same time that new communities are being affected by this phenomenon,” said expert Andres Davila. “A landmine is a perfect soldier: It doesn’t eat, it doesn’t ask for vacation, it doesn’t need to rest and it is active for 30 years,” said Lt. Colonel Mauricio Moreno.

COLOMBIA: FARC Computers Revealing, Could Send Them Reeling.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/ Detailed Analysis / La Semana Magazine/
A bombing raid in March 2008 that killed guerrillas and top leaders also put rebel computers into the hands of the government. That event prompted FARC founder Manuel "Tirofijo" Markulanda to state that the crown jewels and "secrets of the FARC have been lost."

COLOMBIA: The FARC Rebounds.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/ With Map/
Despite success by Colombia's Armed Forces in the center of the country, the FARC have increased military activity, killed more soldiers and gained influence in the south-east, west and north, according to the annual report by Nuevo Arco Iris.

Colombian Clash With FARC Leaves 18 Dead.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
At least 18 FARC rebels and soldiers were killed in the southwestern Colombia clashes.
Thirteen FARC members and five soldiers were killed in fighting in the mountainous region of Cauca, near Cali.

Expert Says Colombia's Nobel Peace Candidate Is "Too Close To Chavez."

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba's relation with Venezuela president Hugo Chavez may be the reason she didn't win this year's Nobel Peace Prize, opines Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy.
"Poor Piedad. She has to wait for one year more. If she had won, the good thing would have been that it would have been a signal to president Uribe to change his politics, he states, "but the closeness to Chávez was a bad thing."
Also See = GLOBAL POST: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/colombia/091009/angel-or-farc-ally-disguise

Opinion: The Dangerous Link Between Iran And Venezuela.

LAHT. WONK WARNING! By former NYC D.A. Robert Morgenthau at the Brooking Institute.
"Iran and Venezuela are beyond the courting phase. We know they are creating a cozy financial, political, and military partnership, and that both countries have strong ties to Hezbollah and Hamas. Now is the time for policies and actions in order to ensure that the partnership produces no poisonous fruit."

Colombian Rebels Increase Oil Pipeline Attacks.

BLOOMBERG.

FARC rebels have stepped-up attacks on Colombia's Transandino pipeline.

"Colombia’s efforts to push back rebel troops and bolster infrastructure security has reduced sabotage on pipelines since President Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002. Attacks dropped to about 11 last year, compared with the start of the decade, when one pipeline was attacked a record 171 times in a year, he said."

Recent assaults have halted oil transportation but not production.

Venezuela Still Aids FARC Rebels.

From the NYTImes.

It's official now. The New York Times reports that new materials show that rebels in Colombia were aided by Venezuelan officials.

Swedish Weapons Sold To Venezuela...Found In Colombian FARC Camp.

From MercoPress.

Powerful weapons including anti-tank rockets made by Sweden and sold to Venezuela in the 1980's were found by Colombian troops in a raid on a FARC camp.

More Kidnappings In Venezuela Linked To Colombian Guerrillas.

From the GlobalPost.com.

Want a safer vacation in Venezuela?

Stay far away... from the Colombian border.