There Was No Rescue

The regime of Urive is expert in spectacular initiatives and media shows.

On the 1st of July of the year in course, the Newspaper El Paiz gave account that, ”Bogota had arranged for two European negotiators to speak of future encounters for the discussion of the future of the hostages held by the FARC, according to information given by the Columbian media. The ancient French counsel in Bogota, Noél Sáenz, and the Swiss diplomat Jean-Pierre Gontard, early last weekend, started off for a meeting point in the mountains…”

The popular Venezuelan news agency, on July 2nd, had promptly stated the following: “When the FARC, in coordination with the French and Swiss governments were developing the transfer of the 15 detainees in two helicopters, functionaries of the Columbian Armed forces had already detected and occupied the aircrafts.”

It is clear: the FARC had arranged for the liberation and delivery of the detainees to the previously mentioned French-Swiss delegation, who acted on behalf of the European nations, friends of Colombia who had previously intervened in name of the exchange.

Let us remember that not long before the bombing of Commander Raul Reyes’ camp, he was dedicated to means of liberating Ingrid Betancourt, and to those ends, he had gotten into direct contact with the governments of Ecuador and France. Now, circumstances are different. Urive and his regime decided to act in another manner.

Since they could not oppose the gesture on behalf of the French diplomat Noel Sáez and the Swiss Jean Pierre Gontard, they authorized their efforts in contacting the secretariat of the FARC, who by the way had been informed nationally and internationally from the presidential palace. The FARC had gracefully accepted the offer from the French-Swiss delegation, and had proposed to work in that direction.

Those 15 captives had been distributed in three different and distant locations, and for that reason, they were gathered at one common point in the Colombian jungle.

Everything had been concerted, and the civil helicopters had advanced in the prearranged direction, yet neither the FARC nor the French and Swiss representatives had counted on the unscrupulous wit of Urive and his gringo associates, which is well known and proven. Perhaps they thought wrongly that Urive would not dare go so far.

The fundamental goal was to impede the FARC from portraying the gesture they had approved. They steal credit, and recount with a powerful media choir that propagates their slight of hand as a grand task.

There was no military rescue, because the detainees were about to be delivered, and no one of the FARC had orders to resist.

There was a military assault on helicopters piloted by unarmed civilians for the purpose of self-attributing the victory of the liberation of those who by all means were already being liberated, all without the risk of shock that would implicate such a surprise operative.

Uribe and the high command of the Colombian military had intercepted and diverted the course in their own favor. All, I repeat, for the purpose of claiming the initiative, and raising himself along with the sun.

This does not deserve any sort of congratulations from a frank Revolutionary stance, or simply from a progressive stance.

Also, it does not demonstrate the expiry of the armed battle which others proclaim will possibly have to be resorted to if things continue to remain as they are now headed, if the mother of all crisis employs her powers of pull, if the IV fleet of the U.S. Navy continues its agitated course, if the Manta base is transferred to the Columbian Guajira (next to the Venezuelan frontier), if the climatic Pentagon war is still in execution, if the separatism of imperialism persists in fracturing Bolivia (first) and Ecuador and Venezuela (later), if Colombian paramilitary troops continue their destabilizing labor in Ecuador and Venezuela, and if our nations see themselves obligated to unsheathe Bolivar’s sword.

Those who eulogize Uribe from differing and competing processes from the engendering he presents, like those who keep silent in face of the tenebrous plans of this man and his powerful godfathers from the North (now more reviled and more brutal than ever), in truth, sharpen knives for their own throats: they give oxygen to a sort of perverted sub-imperialism, which is instrument to the hawks in Washington.