How Hugo Chavez Courted FARC
By Jens Glüsing
They called him "Angel." He was the highest-ranking outside contact for the Colombian guerilla organization FARC. More and more details are now emerging that demonstrate the close relationship between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the jungle terrorists.
REUTERS
FARC has confirmed that Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda Velez is dead.
He already had a photo of himself posing with Vietnamese general and revolutionary hero Vo Nguyen Giap, and he also planned to suggest to Cuban leader Fidel Castro that he don his combat uniform once again for a joint photo, "Angel" told FARC commander Ivan Marquez. All that was missing in his collection, he said, was a photo with "J.E."
"Angel" was FARC's code name for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and "J.E." was Manuel Marulanda, a.k.a. "Tirofijo" ("Sure Shot"), the legendary leader of Latin America's oldest guerilla organization. But the meeting Chavez apparently longed for will never take place.
Marulanda is dead, FARC commander "Timochenko" confirmed on the weekend before last. FARC claims that he died of a heart attack, but the Colombian government believes that the guerilla leader was killed in a military attack. It has offered a reward for the body.
The death of its leader is the most recent in a string of serious blows to FARC. In early March, the Colombian military killed Raul Reyes, the group's second-in-command, in an air attack. A few days later, Ivan Rios, a commander, was killed by a bodyguard hoping to collect a bounty that had been offered for the guerilla leader. Finally, two weeks ago, "Karina," one of the most brutal and respected of FARC's female guerillas, turned herself in to authorities. She is believed to be responsible for the murder of the father of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. This series of setbacks has fueled speculation that the entire guerilla organization is on the verge of surrendering.
The rebels are now more dependent than ever on their guardian angel, Hugo Chavez. But Chavez is maintaining a low profile. After Reyes's death, he urged the Venezuelan congress to observe a minute of silence, and he even sent troops to the Colombian border in an attempt to intimidate Venezuela's neighbor. But he offered no comment, at least initially, on Marulanda's death. At the Latin America-European Union summit in Peru two weeks ago, "Angel" sought to portray himself as a man of peace.
With his back to the wall, Chavez is trying to ingratiate himself with his counterparts once again. Hundreds of e-mails on Reyes's laptops, many of which SPIEGEL has obtained, expose him as an accomplice of the narco-terrorist guerilla organization. Washington has already expressed its "concern" over Chavez's alliance with the rebel group, which is listed as a terrorist organization in both the United States and the European Union. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has also demanded that Venezuela be called to account for its support of FARC.
REUTERS
FARC has confirmed that Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda Velez is dead.
He already had a photo of himself posing with Vietnamese general and revolutionary hero Vo Nguyen Giap, and he also planned to suggest to Cuban leader Fidel Castro that he don his combat uniform once again for a joint photo, "Angel" told FARC commander Ivan Marquez. All that was missing in his collection, he said, was a photo with "J.E."
"Angel" was FARC's code name for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and "J.E." was Manuel Marulanda, a.k.a. "Tirofijo" ("Sure Shot"), the legendary leader of Latin America's oldest guerilla organization. But the meeting Chavez apparently longed for will never take place.
Marulanda is dead, FARC commander "Timochenko" confirmed on the weekend before last. FARC claims that he died of a heart attack, but the Colombian government believes that the guerilla leader was killed in a military attack. It has offered a reward for the body.
The death of its leader is the most recent in a string of serious blows to FARC. In early March, the Colombian military killed Raul Reyes, the group's second-in-command, in an air attack. A few days later, Ivan Rios, a commander, was killed by a bodyguard hoping to collect a bounty that had been offered for the guerilla leader. Finally, two weeks ago, "Karina," one of the most brutal and respected of FARC's female guerillas, turned herself in to authorities. She is believed to be responsible for the murder of the father of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. This series of setbacks has fueled speculation that the entire guerilla organization is on the verge of surrendering.
The rebels are now more dependent than ever on their guardian angel, Hugo Chavez. But Chavez is maintaining a low profile. After Reyes's death, he urged the Venezuelan congress to observe a minute of silence, and he even sent troops to the Colombian border in an attempt to intimidate Venezuela's neighbor. But he offered no comment, at least initially, on Marulanda's death. At the Latin America-European Union summit in Peru two weeks ago, "Angel" sought to portray himself as a man of peace.
With his back to the wall, Chavez is trying to ingratiate himself with his counterparts once again. Hundreds of e-mails on Reyes's laptops, many of which SPIEGEL has obtained, expose him as an accomplice of the narco-terrorist guerilla organization. Washington has already expressed its "concern" over Chavez's alliance with the rebel group, which is listed as a terrorist organization in both the United States and the European Union. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has also demanded that Venezuela be called to account for its support of FARC.
