Venezuela

I just finished reading on CNN.com that Hugo Chavez is moving troops to the Colombian border in response of accusations that he is harboring leftist guerrilla terrorists. I don't know how much this story is being covered in the US but I wanted to reassure everyone that we are far from the Venezuelan border and are in no danger in the very remote chance that anything would happen in the few remaining weeks we are here.

The further I dig into the country's history the more I learn about the complex social problems that exist here. I was wrong to say in a previous post that there are three major leftist groups and one major right wing group. In fact, there are many on each side and actually the right wing paramilitary groups are far more brutal than the more well known and discussed guerrilla groups. These paramilitary groups account for an estimated 70% of the political assassinations in Colombia.

The paramilitary groups began as self trained militias, mimicking the organization and discipline of the official military, and were intended as regional security forces around Colombia. They were actually supported in the 60's by JFK and the US to wage a proxy war against left wing communists in Colombia.

Chavez, being a leftist leader, has accused the Colombian government in collaboration with a paramilitary group of plotting his assassination. I downloaded a report from Human Rights Watch yesterday that details the atrocities perpetrated by these paramilitary groups in the past several decades. I won't repeat the stories here but let's just say what they have done is well on par with the actions carried out by the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, not in numbers but certainly in brutality.

Trust me, I'm not writing this to defend Chavez, he's horrible in his own right. I think his actions today are very near to being an outright declaration of war. It's really interesting that I feel such a connection to Colombia now since my son was born here and I feel deeply offended by these actions.

An interesting side note: Chiquita Brands International, yes Chiquita Bananas, has admitted to paying a paramilitary group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC, for protection of it's workers, thereby officially supporting a terrorist organization. I'm sure their hands were forced to an extent but it's pretty crazy that a multi-national corporation has actually admitted to this.