Colombia's "new" paramilitaries

 Click for enlarged map and full 'Just the Facts' post

A great post by leading Colombia expert Adam Isaacson over at 'Just the Facts'  today, which gives an overview of the far right wing paramilitary organizations operating in the country at present. As well as the map you see above, you get a rundown of the five main groups and information on each one under headings "Territory", "Membership", "Leadership", "Lineage", Notable Connections" and "Recent News". Great stuff indeed and your humble scribe urges you to click through and read the whole piece, but here's the intro blurb to get you in the mood:

Here is an overview of the principal "emerging criminal groups" in Colombia. The Colombian government refers to them as "Bacrim" (Bandas Criminales), and along with leftist guerrillas they are among the country's principal narcotraffickers. These groups are often called "new paramilitaries" because most are led by former mid-level commanders of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the paramilitary umbrella organization that underwent a formal demobilization in 2006.

Continues here

Q) What's yellow and dangerous? A) A banana with a machine gun

News from the real banana republic, courtesy of Business Courier:

More victims of paramilitary violence in Colombia have sued Chiquita Brands International Inc. (CQB), claiming payments the company made to terrorist groups in the country make it liable for damages.

About 250 Colombians filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Florida, according to a Reuters report. They are demanding more than $1 billion in damages, saying that family members will killed by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a paramilitary group.

Cincinnati-based Chiquita is facing several lawsuits as a result of the payments, including CONTINUES HERE

CAJA: Colombia teachers assassinated by paramilitaries because they refused to pay protection money

Another heartwarming tale of teachers killed by people that according to the mining community dumbass bullshit rah-rah pumpers simply do not exist.

More than 2,000 students and teachers marched through the streets of Puerto Berrio on March 17 to protest the killing of a teacher and his wife. Duvian Rojo and Veronica Cadavid were killed by two gunmen in the center of town on the evening of March 13. Puerto Berrio is controlled by paramilitary death squads that have relations with the police and military, and the killing occurred just two blocks from the police station. Duvian and Veronica were the parents of twins that are less than a year old.

The paramilitaries have been extorting more than 20 teachers in the town – demanding that they pay protection money in order to avoid being killed. Duvian filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office that led to the arrest of two men, although none of the paramilitary leaders were arrested. His colleagues believe that he was killed in retaliation for speaking out about the extortions.

continues here

Uribe and Uribe

On the left, Mario Uribe. On the right, Álvaro Uribe. Let's see what they have in common:

• They are cousins

• They are close political allies and confidantes

• They are both powerful politicians in Colombia. One is Prez (duh) but the other is a stalwart of the President's inner circle and was also Head of the Senate for two years (2000 and 2001).

Now let's see the main difference between the two:

• Yesterday Mario Uribe was (again) arrested on charges of close links with far right paramilitary death squads in Colombia.

• Álvaro Uribe hasn't been arrested for his links with the paramilitaries. Not yet, anyway.

Remember folks, these are the very same paramilitary groups that are not a problem at all in Colombia, according to those bullshit mining newsletter idiots. I mean, just as one example of thousands, it's easy to ignore the recent reports out of Norte de Santander (home to Ventana Gold (VEN.to), Greystar Resources (GSL.to), Galway Resources (GWY.v) etc etc) because the confirmed 3,000 deaths in that single region at the hands of the rightwing paras (which look like rising to over 10,000 and be clear, are continuing to this day) don't count.....cos they weren't killed by the FARC....and rightwingers are never as bad as them lefties, are they?

Here's the BBC on Mario Uribe's arrest yesterday:

A cousin of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been rearrested over his alleged ties to paramilitary groups.

Mario Uribe Escobar, a former senator, was detained following an order from the Colombian Supreme Court.

Mario Uribe, who denies any wrongdoing, was continues here

Message to Canadian mining analysts covering Colombian gold stocks

This post is for all those analysts in all those Canadian brokerages, shops, houses and newsletters that cover junior goldies in the Norte de Santander department of Colombia, for example Ventana Gold (VEN.to), Greystar Resources (GSL.to), Galway Resources (GWY.v) amongst a lot of others. And really it's more of a question for you guys up there, because I'd really like to know why you refuse to inform your clients about the unstable political situation in that region, why you refuse to pass information on the social upheavals and misery being caused by far-right wing paramilitary terrorists, why you refuse to tell people about the drug trafficking, the mass killings, the attacks on civilian populations, the displacement of entire villages under duress and the underaged girls forced into prostitution.

Why do you stay totally silent about the enormous political risks currently suffered by Norte de Santander? Do you really think that encouraging a bunch of wealthy Canadians to pour money into such an unstable region is a good idea? It seems to me that by not passing on important information about this region you are either ignorant of Norte de Santander and shouldn't be covering the stocks in the first place, or you are deliberately misleading people.

Here follows a translation of this report in Colombia's El Tiempo daily dated to last weekend, featuring the Public Defender Ombudsman Volmar Pérez Ortiz, a man that so good at his job that he was re-elected by Colombia's congress for this important role for a third consecutive term in 2008 (which runs to 2012). This person knows about one thousand times more about Norte de Santander than the equities analysts that pump these stocks to their clients.

Public Defender Ombudsman Warns That Violende Impacts Vulnerable Population

Vólmar Pérez Ortiz says that violence generated by the actions of illegal groups in the Norte De Santander department has a direct impact on the most sensitive sectors.

The National Public Defender Ombudsman also indicated that the cases of violence that communities are exposed to include selective homicides, massacres, forced displacements, threats, attacks and combats using the civilian population as human shields, anti-personnel mines, use and recruitment of children and adolescents to the paramilitry and forced prostitution.

The functionary also said that the illegal groups that operate in the region such as the 'Aguilas Negras' and the 'Rastrojos' have shown a capacity of expanded control over the populations, particularly in the border areas.

"For the Defender of the People Ombudsman, the continued reality of forced transborder displacement in Norte de Santander is worrying , as in other zones of the extensive frontier with Venezuela", said Pérez, who added that the displacements do not have good estimated numbers due to the characteristics of the operations that affect undeclared refugees who do not report their situations to avoid being expelled or as a means of self-protection from the illegal groups.

Vólmar Pérez said that the forced displacements are principally as a consequence of threats and constraints from illegal armed groups on the civilian populations that live in regions close to the border.

"only" four victims

Cool threads, Residente

In an amazing breakthrough for world democracy, Colombia's Center for Research and Popular Education (CINEP) reports that there have "only" been four deaths due to false positives in Colombia this year.

Yes that's right, folks. Whoop and cheer, because in 2009 only four innocent people were kidnapped by the country's armed forces, murdered in cold blood and then dressed as FARC terrorists by the state servants to make them look like victims of battles...so that the country's soldiers could reach their quota set by Uribe and company and get extra time off.

Your author's meek question: How can any number above zero be cause for celebration on something as jawdroppingly disgusting?

Here's an English language report on the issues, thanks to Colombia Reports.

I wonder why Ventana Gold doesn't talk about political risk much.....

Funny old world, innit? You get reams and reams written on Ventana Gold (VEN.to), not to mention next door neighbour Greystar (GSL.to). There's also Anglo at La Colosa and then after those big three a whole bunch of hangers-on in the area, too. But I'll be darned if I can find a word written by any analyst hot on VEN.to and/or the other stocks about political risk in the cocaine-smuggling, fast-shooting, blood-stained Colombia/Venezuela border region.

Which is strange. I mean, to the East of Santander (where the gold-bearing region in question lies) you have Arauca, controlled by the far-left wing FARC, so why not check out the latest on what's happening in that area by going over to the CAJA blog and reading this post (excerpt here)

Pablo Rodriguez, of the Sikuani people, taught in the indigenous school in Marrero. He was murdered in his classroom by the FARC on June 9. Because of the difficult access to that community, his body wasn’t recovered until two days later. When I arrived in Arauca City, the wake had finished and the funeral procession was marching to the cemetery.

Humberto Echeverri taught for 18 years in the community of Los Colonos and he was with his students on June 11. The Social Pastorate program of the Catholic Church has a nutrition and community garden program in Los Colonos, and they were monitoring the weights of the children. FARC guerrillas came into the school and told Humberto they needed to speak with him. They led him away, prevented the people from following, and then killed him.

.... and then when you've had your heart broken by the stories and photos of the children left behind, check out this other recent post at CAJA when the blog author suddenly found himself on the wrong side of town(excerpt here):

The bursts of gunfire were becoming longer and the direction of the sound was changing. It seemed as though the shots were coming closer. There was a particularly long, and ugly, burst of automatic rifle fire. At one point, shots were fired in the plantain grove – 100 yards away.

We also heard explosions which could have been army mortars or guerrilla cylinder bombs. The guerrillas sometimes launch propane cylinders filled with shrapnel – deadly devices that often veer off course and miss their intended target.

A group of soldiers had set up camp in the neighboring house – 50 feet away. I was afraid that the explosions could have been cylinder bombs and that the guerrillas would attempt to hit the army encampment. I counted the explosions (something else to focus on) and noted 16.

...................................................

A helicopter came and circled overhead five minutes later. A roar of machinegun fire came from the helicopter – the ugliest sound I’ve heard in my life. I looked behind me and saw Nidia crouched underneath a table with her son Brandon, who was crying. One of the bullet cases tore through the metal roof of a house fifty yards away and landed on the ground a few feet from a mother and child (see attached photos).

Sounds like a safe place to start a multi-billion dollar gold mine or two next door to, doesn't it? So what about the far-right wing Paramilitary zone that includes and runs North of Santander? Well, here's Plan Colombia and Beyond with a video post of what an area looks like after the paras surge through and force people to relocate. And here's a report on the paras' recent admissions that they're responsible for 21,000 extrajudicial killings in Colombia.

That video example is North of the exact zone, but Bucaramanga, just next door to Ventana & friends, is a well-known para stronghold, too. So why not do a bit of DD and ask your friendly stockbroker about political risk on these stocks the next time he pumps them down your throat with his $10 target prices? If he tells you the truth, I'd guess the investment may not sound as inviting as it did when he was giving you the full spiel. If he tells you there's little risk and there's nothing much to worry about, I'd guess it's time to change your investment advisor.

Plan Colombia and cocaine

Top blog 'Plan Colombia and Beyond' put up the following chart this week and asked a couple of interesting questions.

1) If the US funded Plan Colombia (at seven billion dollars and counting) is working, then why hasn't Colombia's cocaine production dropped?

2) If there's the same or even more cocaine being produced at the same time as the FARC is being defeated, then who is in control of the industry now? And who is making all the money?

Any suggestions, folks?

By the way, that chart from an official UN report (available as a download from that Plan Colombia article) doesn't take into account the 27% rise in coca plantations YoY 2008 recently reported by the UN.

Colombia Combo

1) Read the story of Flor Diaz at the excellent CAJA blog. She was recently released after three years and four days in jail for "rebellion", the term used when you have the guts to stand up for human rights and try to help people being trampled upon by government forces in provincial Colombia.

2) Plan Colombia and Beyond has a four minute video of Alvaro Uribe speaking in Spanish with English subtitles about peace activists and journalists that dare to oppose the government line. This type of interview is common in Colombia but rarely reaches the wider, Enlgish-speaking world. The ease in which Uribe connects anyone against his governmental line with the word "terrorist" is chilling, especially considering his government's appalling record on human rights. Equally interesting is how, in 2006, he claims to be on the brink of bringing down the far right wing paramilitary organizations. Anyone visiting the northeastern coca growing regions today will know differently.

3) More Plan Colombia and Beyond. Here's the moneyline from this article:

".....Colombian leader chose to speak about local issues like Families in Action [an economic subsidy program] and successes against the FARC. After a few minutes, some of the meeting’s organizers observed with alarm that Timothy Geithner, the U.S. treasury secretary, chose to disconnect himself from the simultaneous translation feed."

Fading influence, anyone?

4) After noting earlier this week that the Bolivia actions in targetting the transporters of drugs is working well, here's a note from Colombia Journal that shows how Uribe is still barking up the wrong tree in his attempt to stamp out Colombia's biggest export business.

What happens if you oppose violence in Colombia?

They bomb your building.

Scott of CAJA had a nasty experience last weekend, and here's the link to find out what happened. You'll also note he's not quick to blame leftist extremists or rightist extremists. Too wise for that, he's long since learned that a bullet fired by the FARC is just as deadly as a bullet fired by the paramilitaries.

Non-Existent Colombian Paramilitaries Update

The Aguilas Negras (Black Eagles) paramilitaries. Neatly equipped, aren't they?
Where the devil did they get the cash for that little lot...........?

Now remember what you've been told, folks: The problem in Colombia is the nasty far left-wing FARC terrorists. The nasty far right-wing Paramilitaries do not exist, they are not a problem and they don't have anything to do with cocaine trafficking or anything. We know this because the "alleged" groups are sponsored by the Colombian gov't which is in turn sponsored by the US gov't.

Here's a story from today. Yet another illegal incurson into Ecuador from Colombia. This time it was 20 heavily armed paramilikos trying to search and destroy a woman in a disco on the Ecuador side of the border. This is an big story in Ecuador (Google has 57 reports and counting...here are a few listed) , but strangely...bizarrely...amazingly...I could only find one report of the event in the English media.

I wonder why?

There's nothing like making the best of a trip, is there?

When you're out traveling, touring and visiting it's best to pack in as much as you can to make the most of your time, isn't it? Well, as you're about to read the paramilitary groups in Colombia (the ones that the USA insists are the good guys and also insists on funding) have the same attitude as any other holidaymaker.

Here's an extract from businessman-turned-paramilitary chief Raúl Hasbún's recent testimony. You can find the rest of the report (in English) right here, and it's pretty compelling stuff. Hat tip to Lillie at the wonderful Memory in Latin America blog for passing this one on.

"...Without blinking, he confessed to the San José de Apartadó massacre of 1998. He said he ordered the massacre because the town was so secluded, and the logistics of getting there were so difficult, that it wasn’t worth it to make an incursion just to kill one or two people. Therefore, in order to make the most out of the trip, they killed the largest amount of people that could possibly be associated with the FARC ..."

Now go read the rest.