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 Luddite
establishmentshill
Registered: 03/23/06
Posts: 1,649
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 Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S.
#8382242 - 05/09/08 03:34 PM (5 months, 6 hours ago) |
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Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S.
(Updates throughout with intelligence official comments, details, quotes)
WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's ties to Colombian rebels are deeper than previously thought, a U.S. intelligence official said on Friday following an analysis of files on a dead guerrilla leader's laptops.
The files appear to be authentic and underscore U.S. concerns about Chavez's quest for more influence in the region, the official said. Their discovery in March raised speculation the United States would put Venezuela on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
"It (the analysis) reinforces the U.S. government's strong position that Chavez is attempting in various ways to project his influence throughout the region and that influence in some ways could be construed as destabilizing," the intelligence official said.
Chavez contends the Colombian government faked the files.
Although Chavez's sympathies for the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are well known, Colombia has said the files seized in a March attack show Chavez offered financial support to the group.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the files also indicate Venezuela offered to arm the rebel group, which is known as FARC, possibly with rocket-propelled grenades and ground-to-air missiles. It said Venezuela offered FARC the use of a port to receive arms shipments.
The intelligence official told Reuters "the documents provided by the Colombian government appear to be authentic."
The files document discussions between the rebels and Chavez about closer ties and portray a "deeper relationship than previously known," the official said.
The March attack by Colombia on a rebel camp in Ecuador killed a senior FARC leader and inflamed regional tensions. That and other recent attacks are seen as having weakened the rebel group that has been fighting a four-decade civil war in Colombia, to the point where FARC is "on its heels," the intelligence official said.
"However, they have shown an ability in the past to regroup and to regenerate leadership."
Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the United States, told the Journal in an interview on Wednesday, that the computer files were "false and an attempt to discredit the Venezuelan government."
The files indicate Venezuela has raised the prospect of drawing up a joint security plan with FARC and has sought basic training in guerrilla-warfare techniques, the Journal said, suggesting Chavez was preparing for a possible U.S. invasion of Venezuela.
(Reporting and writing by Randall Mikkelsen at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba; Editing by Bill Trott)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN0951368920080509
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http://www.protestwarrior.com/
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danknugz81
spiralingdownward
Registered: 02/22/08
Posts: 771
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 Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: Luddite]
#8383802 - 05/09/08 11:35 PM (4 months, 30 days ago) |
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yes, lets get into MORE wars for oil!
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Minstrel
Talkback is Barberpole
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 1,184
Loc: Smiley Pie
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: danknugz81]
#8383892 - 05/09/08 11:59 PM (4 months, 30 days ago) |
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OH NOES!!!
THE AXIS OF EVIL IS GETTIN' BIGGER
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~Questions are a burden to others~
~Answers are a prison for one's self~
FREE TALK LIVE
I edit all my posts.
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,255
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: Luddite]
#8385004 - 05/10/08 11:46 AM (4 months, 30 days ago) |
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The primary problem with this assertion, as well as the one about elements of the Iranian government arming "special groups" in Iraq, is why do they (both the FARC-EP & Shia insurgents in Iraq) have such poor caliber of weapons? Yeah, they have a nice quantity of weapons (courtesy of the black market in the case of the FARC-EP, & courtesy of both the black market & what they could get their hands on from Saddam's warehouses after his government fell in the case of Shia insurgents in Iraq... plus I think every household in Iraq could have one AK-47 under Saddam's government), but their quality is not very impressive.
If either of these groups had the backing of an oil-rich state (either Venezuela or Iran), their arsenals would be much more impressive & effective. What are insurgents in Iraq averaging for U.S. casualties? One a day? And these are mostly from Sunni insurgents not armed by Iran in any way. If Iran were funding, training & arming Shia insurgents to target U.S. soldiers, & they are averaging less than one a day out of 100,000+, then the Iranian government should be laughed at, not feared.
As for Chavez's government arming the FARC-EP with anti-aircraft capabilities... if true (which it isn't), I'm sure that I would lose sleep at night over the injustice of U.S.-manufactued planes being shot down while spraying Monsanto's poisons over the heads of poor farmers in Colombia trying to provide for their families, causing immense environmental harm, animal death, immediate human health problems, & increased rates of cancer & birth defects in rural areas.
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"Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every pine needle, every sandy shore, every humming insect is holy... We are part of the earth and it is part of us... The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth." - Chief Seattle
"...the role our nation has taken... of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments... we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values... When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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 ScavengerType
Just Another Douchebag
Registered: 01/24/08
Posts: 1,293
Loc: your mom's place
Last seen: 2 hours, 1 minute
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#8390883 - 05/11/08 10:06 PM (4 months, 28 days ago) |
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Why would you be surprised if FARC was supported by Chavez it's literally his own back yard, and Colombia's right wing government is a fascist US puppet.
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"Who said every wish would be heard and answered when wished on a morning star? Some asshole thought of it, some sucker believed it and look what it's done so far." -the great LoC
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afoaf
CEO DBK?
Registered: 11/08/02
Posts: 31,958
Loc: Ripple's Heart
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#8392498 - 05/12/08 12:13 PM (4 months, 28 days ago) |
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wait, you're asserting that this is all bullshit because FARC isn't
rocking M-16s?!
the entire thrust of this is that venezuela has been secretly backing
them.
hooking them up with polished weapons that would be easily traced back
to chavez doesn't really serve that purpose well, does it?
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I eat steak medium at most, I use bare hands to eat it and its usually after an hour long fuck fest with several women, and with a full keg of the coldest beer.
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Nunbuh_Chrubble
I'm just a kittycat
Registered: 01/23/06
Posts: 932
Last seen: 1 month, 7 days
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: afoaf]
#8411799 - 05/17/08 02:31 AM (4 months, 23 days ago) |
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We all know the CIA ships in cocaine from Columbia...
can you say Iran-Contra 2008?
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Please help me create a mushroom cultivation wiki:
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afoaf
CEO DBK?
Registered: 11/08/02
Posts: 31,958
Loc: Ripple's Heart
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: Nunbuh_Chrubble]
#8414586 - 05/17/08 09:20 PM (4 months, 23 days ago) |
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and what does that have to do with the price of tea in china?!
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I eat steak medium at most, I use bare hands to eat it and its usually after an hour long fuck fest with several women, and with a full keg of the coldest beer.
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Madtowntripper
Sun-Beams out of Cucumbers
Registered: 03/06/03
Posts: 12,857
Last seen: 11 minutes, 23 seconds
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#8414708 - 05/17/08 09:51 PM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Goddamn, can all of you hippies just accept that Chavez is just as fucking nuts, if not more so, than you believe the US government to be? Can you accept that he is sowing the seeds of conflict and strife throughout the region in whichever places he can stick his pudgy little fingers?
Whatever faults you may ascribe the United States government, and Lord knows there are enough to go around; but however bad you think they are it is a fact that throwing your lot in with anyone else who doesn't like the United States will put under the covers with some very strange bedfellows.
Chavez is a whack-job Communist who harbors the same territorial ambitions which you say the US government. The sooner you realize he is that, and is not in fact some cuddly little Socialist version of Simon Bolivar come to liberate the lands then the better off you'll be. Falling for the guise of thinking that his motives are as pure as the driven snow merely because you share a common enemy is the height of stupidity.
He's a thug.
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zorbman
Bush Recession2008
Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 3,361
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: Madtowntripper]
#8415339 - 05/18/08 01:48 AM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Well said.
I dislke our foreign policy but the leftist foreign policy in central and south america has been outrageous and the nationalization of foreign industry will only hurt them AND us.
Bottom line: They do not have the expertise to efficiently extract their own resources.
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“I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.” -Ben Bernanke to Milton Friedman at his 90th birthday party.
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,255
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: Madtowntripper]
#8415874 - 05/18/08 10:17 AM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Goddamn, can all of you hippies just accept that Chavez is just as fucking nuts...
First off, I'm not a hippy.
Second off, Chavez (like Morales) is an inspiration for the aspirations of, & a leader for the ideals of, tens of millions of poor (& especially indigenous) in the Western Hemisphere, & hundreds of millions (probably billions) around the world.
Third, the historically poor, marginalized & exploited in Venezuela (like anywhere), who are the majority, are fully capable of speaking for themselves. Thanks to independent media, & Internet technology, their message can be heard by any willing to listen. For anyone with an open mind & who wants to learn about the social, economic & political history of Venezuela (especially since the massive street protests of 1989), filled with commentary & statements by the aforementioned class of people, the following documentary is filled with insight... it also contains a quite a bit of commentary & statements from figures & representatives of the oligarchy, & "middle class" people (many of them oppose the revolution, but not all):
Venezuela Bolivariana
(Other than a few exceptions of English-speaking people, the vast majority of this film is Spanish with English subtitles... it is approximately 80 min. long, I believe off the top of my head)
http://www.mazalien.com/venezuela-bolivariana-people-and-the-struggle-of-the-4th-world-war.html
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,255
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: afoaf]
#8415887 - 05/18/08 10:23 AM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
the entire thrust of this is that venezuela has been secretly backing
them.
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), testifying before a Congressional committee, said that there is no evidence to back such claims, despite that militaristic Representatives were trying to get him to say that there was such evidence.
Ideological sympathies? Of course. Many who oppose the rampant poverty & foreign exploitation existing & occurring in Colombia, & who have a vision for a unified, sovereign & self-sufficient Latin American also have such sympathies.
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"Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every pine needle, every sandy shore, every humming insect is holy... We are part of the earth and it is part of us... The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth." - Chief Seattle
"...the role our nation has taken... of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments... we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values... When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 11,485
Last seen: 10 minutes, 8 seconds
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#8415964 - 05/18/08 11:02 AM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
EntheogenicPeace said:
Quote:
the entire thrust of this is that venezuela has been secretly backing
them.
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), testifying before a Congressional committee, said that there is no evidence to back such claims, despite that militaristic Representatives were trying to get him to say that there was such evidence.
Do you mean the testimony reported on in this Article:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ipNXwHOq34tlujMqpPj9OZVXwznw
Quote:
OAS chief to US Congress: no Venezuela-terrorist link
Apr 10, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) — There is no evidence linking Venezuela to terrorist groups, the head of the Organization of American States told US lawmakers looking into last month's Colombia-Ecuador border crisis.
"You mean does Venezuela support terrorist groups? I don't think so," OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza said Thursday during a heated exchange with Florida Representative Connie Mack, who asked if Caracas backed Colombia's FARC rebels that the US and Europe have labeled a terrorist group.
"There is no evidence, and no member country, including this one (United States) has offered the OAS such proof," Insulza added.
Note the all important bolded and italicized portion above. Is that why you left the link out? Because it was testimony given one month prior to the report mentioned in Luddite's post?He also said this:
Quote:
Outside the chamber, speaking to reporters, Insulza criticized US lawmakers for "not knowing the organization's (OAS) goals."
"As with all other international organizations, they want it to do more than it can."
I don't think the OAS is in the business of resolving such disputes or in gathering evidence one way or the other, so what relevance does what the head of the OAS have giving testimony one month before the report cited by Luddite?
Quote:
Ideological sympathies? Of course. Many who oppose the rampant poverty & foreign exploitation existing & occurring in Colombia, & who have a vision for a unified, sovereign & self-sufficient Latin American also have such sympathies.
Are you actually advocating a pan Latin America superstate? What about Columbia's sovereignty that you and Chavez do not seem to be so concerned about? Self sufficient? Do you mean isolationist? And shouldn't the descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors be kicked out as the thieving interlopers that they are?
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"For anyone who cares I know zappaisgod personally. He is gay. He is jewish. He is a douche. And he both, has a crush on me:" Some Incredible Retard
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 11,485
Last seen: 10 minutes, 8 seconds
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#8415992 - 05/18/08 11:17 AM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
EntheogenicPeace said:
Second off, Chavez (like Morales) is an inspiration for the aspirations of, & a leader for the ideals of, tens of millions of poor (& especially indigenous) in the Western Hemisphere, & hundreds of millions (probably billions) around the world.
Wasn't he just repudiated by his countrymen when he tried to ram a term limits amendment through? Some inspiration.Quote:
Third, the historically poor, marginalized & exploited in Venezuela (like anywhere), who are the majority, are fully capable of speaking for themselves. Thanks to independent media, & Internet technology, their message can be heard by any willing to listen.
But not, apparently, certain people
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6696699.stm
Quote:
Thousands of people have demonstrated in Caracas as Venezuela's oldest TV network went off air after President Hugo Chavez did not renew its licence.
Now RCTV operates on cable and satellite. Just a little more accessible to poor people than the internet. Sure the poor people have their sources in Venezuela. They are what Josef....er Hugo says they are. What a man of the people.
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"For anyone who cares I know zappaisgod personally. He is gay. He is jewish. He is a douche. And he both, has a crush on me:" Some Incredible Retard
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,255
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: zappaisgod]
#8416027 - 05/18/08 11:32 AM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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The contents of that computers (obtained & likely fabricated as they saw fit by U.S. intelligence & the Colombian oligarchy) have a much credibility as a 2002-03 statement on Saddam's WMD programs.
The sovereignty of Colombia exists to you so long as it is the sovereignty of the oligarchy to keep 2/3 of the population in poverty while allowing their (the less than 10% who own 90% of wealth & land) banks accounts & those of various transnational corporations to remain extremely high, while as many trade unionists are murdered in Colombia for that reason as the rest of the world combined.
The station in question was part of a (U.S.-backed)coup against him. If a station did to the government of George W. bush what that station did to the government of Hugo Chavez, then Americans wouldn't be watching it for much longer, either.
As for the vote, if you actually cared about Venezuela beyond how much money you can make off of it, you would have noted the numerical results & seen that it wasn't a matter of more people voting against him (only very slightly more), but less voter turnout translating to less votes for his proposals. This has a net positive impact on the revolution in Venezuela in that it keeps them focused on their primary task at hand, abolishing poverty & establishing opportunity & justice in Venezuela for the impoverished classes.
--------------------
"Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every pine needle, every sandy shore, every humming insect is holy... We are part of the earth and it is part of us... The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth." - Chief Seattle
"...the role our nation has taken... of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments... we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values... When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 11,485
Last seen: 10 minutes, 8 seconds
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#8416213 - 05/18/08 12:42 PM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
EntheogenicPeace said:
The contents of that computers (obtained & likely fabricated as they saw fit by U.S. intelligence & the Colombian oligarchy) have a much credibility as a 2002-03 statement on Saddam's WMD programs.
You may note I made no assertion about the validity of what was on the files. You are merely repeating Chavez's allegation. It is irrelevant to the issue I raise which is repeated here:
Why did you cite as a refutation of a May 2008 report on the files' content testimony (by someone who wouldn't know anyway) that was given one full month prior to the report's release? Without a link?Quote:
The sovereignty of Colombia exists to you so long as it is the sovereignty of the oligarchy to keep 2/3 of the population in poverty while allowing their (the less than 10% who own 90% of wealth & land) banks accounts & those of various transnational corporations to remain extremely high, while as many trade unionists are murdered in Colombia for that reason as the rest of the world combined.
Would you please answer my question? Would a Chavez led invasion of Columbia be acceptable to you or would it be a violation of their sovereignty and is their sovereignty only of value if they are Marxist?Quote:
The station in question was part of a (U.S.-backed)coup against him. If a station did to the government of George W. bush what that station did to the government of Hugo Chavez, then Americans wouldn't be watching it for much longer, either.
 You obviously don't watch TV or read newspapers. And why haven't they been arrested if they were part of a coup?Quote:
As for the vote, if you actually cared about Venezuela beyond how much money you can make off of it, you would have noted the numerical results & seen that it wasn't a matter of more people voting against him (only very slightly more), but less voter turnout translating to less votes for his proposals. This has a net positive impact on the revolution in Venezuela in that it keeps them focused on their primary task at hand, abolishing poverty & establishing opportunity & justice in Venezuela for the impoverished classes.
Well, those are certainly wonderful goals. Soon, in spite of Il Duce Hugo, they will be picking somebody else for that role. Or maybe not.
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"For anyone who cares I know zappaisgod personally. He is gay. He is jewish. He is a douche. And he both, has a crush on me:" Some Incredible Retard
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,255
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: zappaisgod]
#8416292 - 05/18/08 01:06 PM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Would a Chavez led invasion of Columbia be acceptable to you...
An unprovoked act of aggression, no. I support people in Colombian themselves overthrowing the corrupt ruling class there, which is an almost impossible task due to countless billions of dollars of U.S. military "aid" to the oligarchy's mercenaries.
People have been arrested as a result of the coup. The station (& others owned by the ruling class) corroborated with the coup by carrying false claims & a phony speech about events made before the happened that they knew to be false in an organized (but in vain) attempt to legitimize the U.S. puppet that briefly assumed power during that ordeal, which ended when they fled like cowards as the masses of poor (& sympathetic "middle class") took to the streets & headed straight to the presidential palace to remove the corrupt & illegal rulers themselves.
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"Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every pine needle, every sandy shore, every humming insect is holy... We are part of the earth and it is part of us... The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth." - Chief Seattle
"...the role our nation has taken... of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments... we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values... When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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Luddite
establishmentshill
Registered: 03/23/06
Posts: 1,649
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: Nunbuh_Chrubble]
#8416706 - 05/18/08 02:50 PM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Nunbuh_Chrubble said:
We all know the CIA ships in cocaine from Columbia...
can you say Iran-Contra 2008?
You're waiting for your crack shipment to come in?
The Interpol website has something about these files.
http://www.interpol.int/
INTERPOL releases forensic report requested by Colombia on seized FARC computers and hardware
BOGOTA, Colombia - INTERPOL today presented the results of its forensic examination of eight seized FARC computer and hardware exhibits following a request for assistance in March of this year by Colombia, one of INTERPOL's 186 member countries.
INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble advised senior Colombian law enforcement officials that INTERPOL's team of forensic experts discovered 'no evidence of modification, alteration, addition or deletion' in the user files of any of the three laptop computers, three USB thumb drives and two external hard disks seized during a Colombian anti-narcotics and anti-terrorist operation on a FARC camp on 1 March 2008.
'Based on our careful and comprehensive forensic examination of each of the eight seized FARC computer exhibits and on consideration of all the evidence reviewed by our experts, INTERPOL concludes that there was no tampering with any data on the computer exhibits following their seizure on 1 March 2008 by Colombian authorities,' said Secretary General Noble.
[Read more]
http://www.interpol.int/
--------------------
http://www.protestwarrior.com/
http://www.thepeoplescube.com
http://michellemalkin.com/2005/11/01/unhinged-the-mugshot-collection/
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,255
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: Luddite]
#8418015 - 05/18/08 08:33 PM (4 months, 22 days ago) |
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Do they show anything about Chavez authorizing such a direct relationship?
I ask this not because I would be appalled by it. To the contrary, I would have no problem whatsoever with it. I desire to see a colonialist legacy system in the Americas dismantled as much as anybody. It would, however, be very politically inadvisable & foolish in that it is asking for the U.S. to take 'harsh" measures (which could include a direct invasion or an invasion by proxies within Colombia) in defense of the Colombian oligarchy.
If it is elements within the Venezuela helping them (whether police, national guard or whoever), that would hardly be revelation; it would be extremely naive to think it doesn't happen. There is hardly a nation in Latin America where there isn't at least some degree of corruption & complicity in arms & narcotics trafficking (some a quite high degree). The same goes for U.S. police departments due to the "War on Drugs". Anytime you have people in positions of authority not making very much money officially or who are otherwise frustrated (or ambitious) in life when there is so much (potential) money around them all the time to be made relatively easily (given that they are in a position of authority), you are going to have corruption regardless of skin color nationality. It also make no difference what the political orientation (left-wing, right-wing, communist, fascist, religious fundamentalist, etc.) of the players involved in the trade are... money has a remarkable ability to put those things aside & facilitate partnerships that otherwise seem incompatible. If one has the potential to make x dollars assisting a shipment through an area or "losing" some official arms & equipments, then tend to see money before the political orientation of their partners.
The drug (& weapons) trade can bring people together like no other. How else do you think members of the Israeli mafia work with Muslim fundamentalist drug manufacturers & traffickers? It's not because they like each other personally & enjoy hanging out on the weekends or after work. The same goes for members of Italian mafia crime families in the U.S. & their partnership with black drug lords, or members of the Mexican Mafia & the Aryan Brotherhood. It also explains why there are right-wing drug manufacturers & traffickers from Colombia also receiving protection & assistance from elements of the Venezuelan government.
The former is all pretty well known & easily understood by all but the most naive. To make the allegation that the Venezuelan government is, from the highest levels, aiding the FARC-EP not out of a desire to make money, but rather due to shared ideological principles, requires evidence beyond a computer. Again, I wouldn't have a problem with it (Chavez's government actively assisting them), but to believe such requires an ignorance about how the "criminal" world operates, & that is why I can't believe it, & certainly not based on a computer. Successful drug dealers & traffickers don't keep notepad memos on their cell phones saying things like, "Chris can get me 5 lbs. of chronic for $12,500 if I drive to St. Louis to pick it up," or "Miguel from San Diego moves kilos & will sell me two for $35,000 as long as I have all the cash on me." They also don't keep this kind of info on their PCs; they keep it in their head. If one is running or involved heavily with an organization or enterprise declared "criminal" by a more powerful authority (& none is more powerful presently than the U.S. government), to be successful & survive, you have to have a minimal level of street intelligence, regardless of your personal & political views, to continue operating efficiently year-after-year. Personally, I don't like Pablo Escobar & what he stood for, but that doesn't mean he was a dumbass on the streets by any means. Just as I'm sure you loathe the FARC-EP, but don't let that cloud objective reason about what it takes to survive (& especially thrive) in the criminal world.
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Luddite
establishmentshill
Registered: 03/23/06
Posts: 1,649
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Re: Files show ties of Venezuela-Colombia rebels -U.S. [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#8464363 - 05/30/08 04:31 PM (4 months, 10 days ago) |
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--------------------
http://www.protestwarrior.com/
http://www.thepeoplescube.com
http://michellemalkin.com/2005/11/01/unhinged-the-mugshot-collection/
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