Bombing Starts

"Welcome to Freedom"

On the night of Feb. 21, the air force announced it had begun a second wave of attacks with OV-10, AT-37 and K-Fir planes and Black Hawk helicopters flying out of the Tres Esquinas base in Caqueta department, where the US has troops stationed. Between 13,000 and 15,000 Colombian soldiers from at least four battalions of the army, air force and navy are taking part in "Operation Tanatos," as the offensive is being called. Combat planes were also being readied for takeoff early on Feb. 22 from the Apiay base near Villavicencio, Meta department, and Palanquero. Air force commanders said another 56 bombing missions destroyed 13 FARC targets on the night of Feb. 21. The planes are also dropping flyers that say (in Spanish) "welcome to freedom" and urge rebels to turn themselves in. [La Jornada (Mexico) 2/22/02 from AFP, DPA, Reuters]

74 FARC Targets Hit, No Verification

The bombing campaign continued on Feb. 22, with the military reporting at least 50 flights that day. The military would not say how many missions had been conducted in all. [Miami Herald 2/24/02] According to a story published in the Mexican daily La Jornada on Feb. 24, the air force reported hitting more than 74 FARC targets in the southern Caguan region since Feb. 21. La Jornada notes, however, that the army has blocked Colombian and foreign reporters from the area, so there is no way to verify the military's claims or to confirm any casualties. [LJ 2/22/02 & 2/24/02, both from AFP, DPA, Reuters] From the Weekly News Update on the Americas (ISSN 1084-922X), published by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012, 212-674-9499, wnu@igc.org.