Writings

Colombia Update Launches

Locombia.org has morphed into something bigger and better: Colombia Update! We now have more people contributing, better software, and more ambitious goals. We'll be adding an Introduction to Colombia soon for those new to Colombia as well as information on organizations working to help Colombia and how you can be a part of them. We also have a Forum where you can feel free to discuss anything about Colombia. Best of all, we'll be publishing a Magazine, the first issue of which is planned for mid-February. And of course the Weblog, Photos and Links will continue and be expanded. Want to get involved? What do you think of the new site? Let us know!

Pastrana Asks For US Military Aid Against Rebels

Its Colombian President Pastrana's turn to play hardball as he asks the US to train Colombian soldiers to protect key infrastructure such as the often-blown-up oil pipelines and bridges.

FARC Attacks Bogotá with Bike-Bombs

The FARC are bringing the conflict to the cities with an innovation in urban terrorism: bicycle-bombs. Four police officers and a 5-year-old girl are dead, and 14 are injured, after a bomb exploded in front of a restaurant frequented by police in a working-class area of Bogotá. Two other bombs were found and deactivated in the Bogotá area, without casualties.

ELN Extortionist Captured With Bin Laden Tapes

Four alleged members of the ELN, including what authorities call the ELN's "financial mastermind" were captured in Medellin by police last Thursday. Police say the mastermind is responsible for extorting huge sums from businesses in the industrial center of Medellin and add that he was studying recordings of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Read about it from EFE News on the Colombian Labor Monitor.

Collateral Damage: Colombia the Victim

Get this. In a new Schwarzenegger movie called Collateral Damage, infamous Colombian rebel leader "El Lobo" (guffaw) plants a bomb in the US that kills Arnold's family, prompting him to come to Colombia and singlehandedly kill this "infamous rebel leader". This just touches all the right buttons, doesn't it? Great way to reinforce the negative image so many people have of Colombia and meld that with the whole terrorism scare and vigilante justice streak we have. Aren't you just loving it? It had to happen. Some early reviews: Oroville Mercury Register, Lotta Reviews and Hollywood.com (where it got 1.5 stars). The IMDb page. A discussion with the director on CNN.

Bogota Celebrates Day Without Cars Again

Bogotanos walked, skated and biked to work again last Thursday as part of Mayor Mockus' Day Without Cars event. This is the third time in three years the event has taken place. This time political leaders from Latin America came to watch and learn. Viva Bogota! Read the AP article. An article from greenspiration.org with some background on Bogota's efforts to clean up its environment. Earth Day's Car Free Day Campaign.

The FARC's Other Businesses

Have you heard that the FARC guerrillas make money from the illegal drug trade, extortion and kidnapping?

Colombia Mobilization Press Release

New York, N.Y.-- On April 19-22, hundreds or New York residents will head for Washington, DC, to tell Congress they want a new policy approach in Colombia. The New York contingent will join thousands of other concerned citizens from around the country as part of the National Mobilization on Colombia. A broad coalition of human rights, labor, environmental, religious, and peace groups is organizing the event. The three days include lobbying, teach-ins, a mass rally, and non-violent action all to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of current US policy in Colombia and to propose positive alternatives.

Five More Energy Towers Downed

The ELN guerillas knocked down another 5 energy towers, this time in Norte de Santander province in Northeastern Colombia, leaving 5 towns without electricity.

Insurgents Grow, Army Numbers Flat

The FARC guerillas and the main paramilitary organization, the AUC, have grown their ranks in the last 3 years according to a Colombian Armed Forces report.

Peace Process Ends, Govt to Retake FARC Zone

Colombian President Pastrana surprised the nation at 9:20 last night with a decision that most Colombians had already arrived at: the FARC are not negotiating in good faith and are abusing the 42,000 sq. km. demilitarized zone granted for negotiations more than 3 years ago.

To Antioquia

We set out last week for a trip to Santa Fe de Antioquia, the former capital of Antioquia Department and home to an antique pueblo, complete with rock streets, donkeys, old-style buildings and huge churches. Antioquia (as the pueblo is referred to) is tierra caliente, where the temperatures are high day and night. The land is fertile, overflowing with trees, plants and exotic fruits.

Independents of Left and Right Triumph in Congressional Elections

Preliminary results in yesterday's Congressional elections in Colombia point to a triumph for independents at the cost of the traditional Liberal and Conservative Parties. Both former guerrillas and supporters of hardline presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe Velez were among the top vote-getters in an election that saw more votes for "None of the Above" than for any single candidate.

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

With the rupture of the peace process and the start of what appears to be all-out war on the FARC guerillas, you would think that life in Colombia would have become much more dangerous. But it hasn't. You would think that one would see bullets flying in the cities, curfews and people locked up in their homes. Well, for certain sectors of the population, we already had that.

Paras Call Websurfers to Action

The Elmer Cardenas Block of the right-wing Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC, or commonly callled Paramilitaries) is calling websurfers to action in the Colombian civil war with a web-based Flash game in which one must kill guerillas who are attempting to take the small town of Aguas Blancas.

Colombia, on a Daily Basis

A lot of people ask me what Colombia is like on a daily basis, living and working here in Medellin. Well, its not that different than other places that I've lived. You get up, you take the bus or Metro to work, you do your job, you come home, eat and go to sleep.

Election Day in Medellin

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Medellin. The spring rains let up for the elections and the normal blue skies returned. At 10AM the novia and I were downtown watching the military helicopters circling above and waiting in line so she could vote.

Colombia Needs our Help, and Badly

I was forwarded a letter the other day from US Congressmen Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) in which he explains that he knows Colombia better than any other member of Congress and that he will never support sending US forces to Colombia because (1) Colombian high-school graduates are exempted from the draft, (2) Colombia has cut its defense budget over the last 3 years and (3) a group of business leaders in Neiva, Huila told him that they successfully evade federal income taxes.

Rain, Rain Go Away (From Bogota)!

Rainy season in Bogota this year is really really rainy!