In early November I received a copy of a death threat made against student activists at the University of the Atlantic in Barranquilla, Colombia. The threat was sent out in the name of the "United Self-Defense Forces (AUC)-Rearmed". The AUC is the largest paramilitary organization in Colombia, though it supposedly demobilized due to government efforts. However, a number of organizations, from Arco Iris Corporation to Human Rights Watch, have reported that para-militarism is actually on the increase, often in the form of new or reconstituted organizations.
Paramilitary U: New Death Threats on Colombia's Campuses
Commentary by James Jordan |
February 24, 2010
Military Buildup in Colombia : A Rumor of War
A rumor of war:
Shadows of Vietnam in Colombia
By Marion Delgado / The Rag Blog / January 22, 2010
CARTAGENA DE INDIES, Colombia -- I borrowed the title of this post from Lt. Philip Caputo’s excellent book covering the U.S. Marines' first six months in Vietnam, not only because I like the title, but I also see some correlation between his story and the story of our troops now being written in the jungles of Colombia.
As in Caputo’s war, death, destruction, and mayhem were preceded by, first, a troop build-up, and then, small skirmishes which were the precursors to all-out war.
A build-up on all sides has been going on here since the military pact of October 30 was signed in Bogota between the U.S. government and the Colombians. In early November, the first shots were fired along the border. Within days of the signing and the beginning of the U.S. troop invasion of Colombia, tensions between Colombia and Venezuela flared, when the bodies of nine Colombians believed to have been executed by an illegal armed group were found on the Venezuelan border state of Tachira.
Homeland Security Harasses Haiti Activists
The U.S. government is stepping up its surveillance and harassment of U.S. activists in an attempt to intimidate them and dampen their spirits for the change we believe in. International solidarity activist James Jordan was returning from a two week trip to Haiti, on Jan. 7, five days prior to the terrible earthquake disaster. When his flight touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, flight attendants called out for “James Patrick Jordan” and asked him to come to the front of the airplane. Homeland Security came on board the airplane to escort him off.
James Jordan speaking in Haiti. (Fight Back! News)
Colombia: Soldiers Accused of Extrajudicial Killings Freed
"In the case of the 11 men from Soacha, their bodies showed up in morgues or mass graves hundreds of km from Bogotá just a few days after they left or went missing from their homes. And although they were wearing civilian clothes when they set out for their supposed new jobs, their bodies were found dressed in FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrilla fatigues..."
Helda Martínez
SOACHA, Colombia, Jan 13 (IPS) - Over the last two weeks, 31 Colombian soldiers accused of the forced disappearance and murder of 11 young men from the poor Bogotá suburb of Soacha have been released from prison on the grounds that they were not formally indicted within 90 days of their arrest, as established by Colombian law. Of the 42 members of the Colombian army implicated in what is known here as the "Soacha case", 18 were released between Dec. 30 and Jan. 7, six on Tuesday Jan. 12 and seven more on Wednesday Jan. 13.
