US Indicts FARC Rebels For Murder of Indigenous Rights Activists

FARC admitted responsibility

The FARC admitted that its members were responsible for the murders in a Mar. 10, 1999 communique, and claimed they would be punished. One of the six people indicted is German Briceno Suarez ("Grannobles"), commander of the FARC's 10th Front and the brother of the FARC's top military commander, Jorge Briceno Suarez ("Mono Jojoy"). The FARC denied any involvement by German Briceno in the killings. The other five FARC members indicted were identified only as El Marrano ("The Pig"), also known as Fernando; Gustavo Bocota Aguablanca; Nelson Vargas Rueda; Jeronimo; and Dumar. None of the six are in custody. On Mar. 7, a US federal grand jury indicted three other FARC leaders with smuggling cocaine into the US, but the Apr. 30 indictment was the first time the FARC was also charged as an organization.

Timing of announcement questionable

US attorney general John Ashcroft announced the indictment, but he and other Justice officials did not answer questions about whether its timing was intended to help the Bush administration press Congress to increase US military aid to Colombia and end restrictions on that aid. "Of course the FARC should be brought to justice for these horrible crimes, but this indictment is part of an orchestrated campaign in favor of military aid," said Lisa Haugaard, legislative director of the Latin American Working Group (LAWG), a Washington-based coalition of 65 organizations.

"cynical and exploitative use of murder to justify further US military aid"

In requesting expanded authority for US assistance in Colombia, the Bush administration has also sought additional money for military training and equipment for use in Arauca department, to protect Occidental's oil pipeline against rebel attacks. Freitas had dedicated himself to the U'wa campaign against Occidental and was one of the indigenous group's most effective international advocates. His family issued an Apr. 30 statement from California, criticizing the Bush administration for its "cynical and exploitative use of Terence's murder to justify further US military aid to the Colombian armed forces...." [Miami Herald 5/1/02; New York Times 5/1/02, 3/19/02; Washington Post 5/1/02]

"Oil equals violence"

"To the two dozen social organizations in the Arauca region protesting US military intervention on behalf [of] Occidental, oil equals violence," the statement continues. "Employing Terence's death as a means to continue perpetuating violence in Colombia grossly contradicts everything Terence believed in." [Freitas Family Statement 4/30/02 via internet] 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.