Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Love letters to FARC   [David Freddoso]

The Wall Street Journal editorial board comments on a Colombian report on communications between the Marxist guerrillas of FARC and a prominent Democrat who helped kill the Colombian Free Trade agreement.

The go-between mentioned in the second paragraph is a development expert named James C. Jones — not to be confused with the former congressman of the same name.

A hard drive recovered from the computer of a killed Colombian guerrilla has offered more insights into the opposition of House Democrats to the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

A military strike three weeks ago killed Raúl Reyes, No. 2 in command of the FARC, Colombia's most notorious terrorist group. The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.), a leading opponent of the free-trade deal. Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia's elected and popular government. 

...[C]ommunications among FARC rebels suggest the goal was to isolate Colombia's government. A letter that Reyes wrote to top FARC commander Manuel Marulanda on October 26 reads: "According to [Jones's] viewpoint, [President Álvaro] Uribe is increasingly discredited in the U.S...He believes that the safe haven [for the rebels] in the counties can be had for reasons mentioned. Congressional Democrats have invited him to Washington to talk about the Colombian crisis in which the principal theme is the swap."

Read the editorial here.

03/25 11:26 AMShare