Anyone here know about a place called Colombia?

[Sigi]

Oliver North on Colombia

[Roguish Lawyer]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html

Rebels kill 14 Colombian soldiers
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 Posted: 4:07 PM EST (2107 GMT)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Leftist rebels attacked a Colombian marine post in southwest Colombia with homemade rockets early Tuesday, killing at least 14 soldiers and wounding about 25, the commander of the Colombian navy said.

Government forces in river gunboats, an airplane outfitted with machine guns and helicopters were pursuing the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, who attacked the marine outpost in the village of Iscuande, the navy said. Scattered clashes were reported in the region, which is in the heart of one of Colombia's cocaine producing areas.

A lieutenant who commanded the jungle outpost and 13 other marines were killed in the pre-dawn attack, said Adm. Mauricio Soto, the commander of the Colombian navy.

"We deeply regret the death of our men but this was a group of Colombians who died defending their country and its people," Soto told a news conference in the capital, Bogota. He said marines and police in Iscuande, 490 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of Bogota, prevented the insurgents from overrunning the town and attacking its police headquarters.

It was the bloodiest attack by the FARC in two years and came amid a government offensive, called Plan Patriot, deep into the rebel's jungle lairs in southern Colombia, more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) from the site of Tuesday's attack.

The navy said FARC rebels used large gas cylinders converted into rockets to attack the marine outpost, which is located near where the Iscuande River empties into the Pacific Ocean. Soto said drug traffickers transport chemicals used to produce cocaine along the river to clandestine labs inland and use the waterway to send purified cocaine out to boats at sea.

The rebels, who control a large share of cocaine production in Colombia, apparently launched the attack to wrest control of the river from authorities, Soto said.

Some of the troops who were attacked are so-called campesino marines, or peasant marines, who are natives of the area where they are stationed and who receive three months of military training.

The deployment of thousands of campesino troops in Colombia to protect their own villages and farms from the rebels is a major component of hardline President Alvaro Uribe's strategy to bring Colombia's 40-year-old insurgency to its knees.

The attack occurred in Narino state, a major cocaine-producing center near the Ecuadorean border that is dotted with coca fields that provide the main ingredient of cocaine, and rudimentary processing labs. Colombian counternarcotics troops were assisting in the pursuit of the rebels, the navy said.

The United States has provided about US$3 billion (euro2.3 billion) in mostly military aid to Colombia since 2000 to combat the rebels and drug production whose profits fuel the war. U.S. Special Forces have trained Colombian counternarcotics troops.

While the Plan Patriot offensive has rocked the FARC onto its heels, the attack Tuesday shows that the rebels retain the capability of striking in diverse points of this Andean nation.

It was the bloodiest FARC attack since the rebels wired a house in the southern city of Neiva with explosives and detonated it on February 14, 2003 as police entered, killing 17 people, including nine police officers, a prosecutor and several civilians.

[Roguish Lawyer]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html

Colombia mounts counterattack against rebels

Sunday, June 26, 2005; Posted: 7:33 p.m. EDT (23:33 GMT)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- President Alvaro Uribe flew to the battlefields of southwest Colombia to oversee a massive counterattack against leftist rebels on Sunday, a day after 25 soldiers were killed in attacks across the country.

As many as 300 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, on Saturday attacked oil wells near Puerto Asis and ambushed an army convoy, killing at least 19 soldiers. Rebel casualty figures were not known.

More than 1,000 troops backed by helicopter gunships hunted down several hundred rebels believed to be heading for the nearby border with Ecuador to seek refuge from the fighting, army officials said.

Uribe insisted that his government won't retreat from the decision to defeat the rebels. "Terrorism is an obstacle to democracy," Uribe said in brief remarks to reporters before traveling to Puerto Asis, 530 kilometers (330 miles) southwest of Bogota.

Another 19 soldiers who went missing during the combat were found alive early Sunday, said Acting Army chief Gen. Hernan Alonso Ortiz.

"They are in good health," Ortiz said in a statement. The soldiers got separated from their unit during the clashes Saturday and had been unable to contact their commanders.

A further six soldiers died Saturday when they clashed with rebels blockading a road in northeast Colombia -- making it the deadliest day for the military since Uribe came to power three years ago on pledges of crushing the 40-year-old insurgency.

Before going into a meeting with Uribe in Puerto Asis, Mayor Jorge Eliecer Coral said he was going to ask the president to boost security along the border with Ecuador to curb the flow of rebels and arms.

"We are fed up that insurgents cross over from Ecuador to commit crimes in our lands," Coral told reporters. For years, FARC guerrillas and have slipped across the 640-kilometer (400-mile) border into Ecuador's northern jungle region to seek refuge from battle and to buy supplies.

Dozens of desperate family members, meanwhile, gathered outside the regional army headquarters in the city of Cali on Sunday to find out if their loved ones were among the dead.

"I'm so worried, we haven't had any news from him for several days and he is supposed to leave the army in two months," Efrain Rodallega, whose brother was sent to guard oil wells near Puerto Asis, told RCN television.

The FARC has this year launched some of its boldest attacks on the military since peace talks collapsed in February 2002, killing more than 130 soldiers.

The rebel offensive came after military commanders at the start of the year said the rebels were being brought to their knees and that a U.S.-backed, 3-year-old military buildup ordered by Uribe had forced the FARC into irreversible decline.

Analysts say the FARC wants to undermine Uribe's re-election hopes by showing that his security crackdown has failed and that only peace talks with a leader more sympathetic to the rebels can lead to peace.

"These attacks are a sign that the FARC is gearing up for a military escalation ahead of the May 2006 elections to show that (Uribe's) democratic security policy is a failure," said professor Roman Ortiz, a terrorism expert at Los Andes University.

The Constitutional Court, the country's highest judicial authority, has yet to rule on whether Uribe can seek a second consecutive term.

Army officials maintain the FARC is made up of 12,000 fighters now, down from 18,000 a year ago, due to deaths, captures and desertions brought on by the government offensive.

Concern has mounted recently that the rebels could gain a foothold in areas currently controlled by outlawed right-wing paramilitary militias, which are due to disband by the end of the year under a peace process with the government that critics say will let killers off the hook.

Colombia's drug-fueled conflict pits the FARC and the smaller National Liberation Army against the paramilitary militias and government forces, killing more than 3,000 people every year.

[NousDefionsDoc]

"These attacks are a sign that the FARC is gearing up for a military escalation ahead of the May 2006 elections to show that (Uribe's) democratic security policy is a failure," said professor Roman Ortiz, a terrorism expert at Los Andes University.

Yup

[FILO]

Right in time for my visit in August.


Edited by the Team Sergeant

[FILO]

Latest poll shows 54 percent in favor of giving Uribe the opportunity to run for re-election. 77 percent favorable rating, considering his two previous counterparts were in the low 30s at this point in their term, this is amazing. This is significant and he may very well get the opportunity to run. Ironically he is in the Liberal not Conservative party. How the left will squeal if he gets the chance because he will win, again!!!




El sondeo no alcanza a reflejar el rifirrafe entre el ex presidente Gaviria y el presidente Uribe. En la foto aparecen cuando Gaviria todavía era secretario general de la OEA.
Archivo / EL TIEMPO



Presidente tendría la probabilidad de continuar en el poder si se aprueba la reelección, dice Anif




Junio 26 de 2005
54 por ciento de los colombianos cree que la reelección del presidente Álvaro Uribe sería positiva

Así lo revela una ecuesta contratada por el Partido Liberal a la firma Napoleón Franco. El Primer Mandatario mantiene favorabilidad del 77 por ciento.

Otra de las principales conclusiones es que la mayoría cree que el país va por mal camino.

La encuesta 'Cómo va Colombia' fue realizada en 8 ciudades capitales del país (Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Ibagué, Santa Marta y Montería). La medición es la primera de una serie de encuestas que buscará entregar a la opinión pública información longitudinal, "es decir no fotos sino fotogramas para poder ver la película completa" afirma Napoleón Franco.

Otras conclusiones

Otras conclusiones reveladoras de la encuesta son:

El liberal sigue siendo el partido más fuerte (32 por ciento frente a 13 por ciento de los uribistas)
Se empieza a erosionar el apoyo a la reelección (54 por ciento la apoya frente al 63 por ciento según la encuesta revelada por EL TIEMPO el 19 de junio)
La mayoría de los colombianos cree que los grupos armados siguen fuertes y peligrosos (51 por ciento en general, 63 por ciento las Farc y 50 por ciento los paramilitares)
Hay una alta infiltración de los grupos paramilitares en la vida política y económica del país (57 por ciento a nivel nacional).
La muestra fue tomada entre el 26 de mayo y el 3 de junio pasados lo que quiere decir que la encuesta tiene en cuenta la crisis del proceso de paz con los 'paras' por el caso 'don Berna' y gran parte de la discusión del proyecto de 'justicia y paz'. La pelea entre el presidente Álvaro Uribe y el ex presidente César Gaviria no alcanza a ser cobijada pero es probable que los resultados de la medición hayan servido de insumo para las decisiones del Congreso Liberal del 10 y 11 de junio e inclusive para el tono crítico del discurso de Gaviria en ese escenario. Este sondeo resulta, en términos generales, menos favorable al presidente Uribe que la encuesta revelada por El TIEMPO el 19 de junio. Cabe aclarar, sin embargo, que tanto la muestra como el cubrimiento geográfico de esta son menores a los de la encuesta previamente publicada.

68 por ciento cree que las cosas siguen igual o peor

La encuesta revela que los independientes son los más pesimistas seguidos de los del Polo Democrático y los liberales. Los uribistas son de lejos los más optimistas. Los resultados también muestran un estancamiento en este punto pues un 68 por ciento de los encuestados cree que en los últimos 6 meses las cosas en el país están iguales o empeorando.

Aunque la ventaja del Partido Liberal es clara en cuanto a la filiación política de los colombianos vale la pena aclarar que el partido uribista no existe como tal. Este resultado puede reflejar una fortaleza para los liberales frente a las elecciones parlamentarias de marzo del 2006.

Reelección

En cuanto al tema de la reelección la encuesta muestra que a pesar de que la figura mantiene un apoyo mayoritario hay una clara disminución de los simpatizantes y se empieza a ver una tendencia hacia la polarización. Los segmentos de la población que más apoyan la reelección son la clase alta, los hombres y las personas que tienen entre 36 y 55 años. En cuanto a la filiación política, los uribistas y los conservadores están más a favor de la figura. Resulta revelador que los independientes, quienes conforman el sector político más grande del país, son, junto al Polo Democrático, quienes menos apoyan la reelección.

Hay una pregunta interesante sobre la votación en un eventual referendo si la Corte tumbara la reelección. El 50 por ciento de los encuestados votaría a favor de la figura mientras que el 25 por ciento no votaría y el 21 por ciento votaría en contra.

Uribe mantiene favorabilidad del 77 por ciento

El presidente Uribe mantiene una altísima favorabilidad (77 por ciento) pero la aprobación de su gestión en algunos temas específicos como la economía (37 por ciento), el desempleo (29 por ciento) y los impuestos (22 por ciento) es muy baja. Según Napoleón Franco esa diferencia entre la favorabilidad y el desempeño se explica porque la primera es una idea más generosa mientras que la segunda es más concreta y se refiere a temas específicos. "Uno puede tener una imagen favorable de Juan en el colegio pero también uno puede pensar que Juan no es bueno para las matemáticas", explica Franco.

[Peregrino]

FILO - !La proxima ves que quisiera apostar algo - Haganos el favor de traducir lo todo a Ingles para los quienes no hablan Espanol! Peregrino

[Roguish Lawyer]

Originally Posted by Peregrino

FILO - !La proxima ves que quisiera apostar algo - Haganos el favor de traducir lo todo a Ingles para los quienes no hablan Espanol! Peregrino

Si! Que es su problemo? LOL

[Roguish Lawyer]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americ...eut/index.html

Colombia pushes international tourism

Monday, August 1, 2005; Posted: 9:15 p.m. EDT (01:15 GMT)

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- To hear Colombia's minister of tourism tell it, conditions are ripe for a major push to attract foreign tourists to a country better known for drugs, wars and kidnapping than for its beaches, mountains and virgin forests.

Things are looking up in Colombia, according to Jorge Humberto Botero, who also holds the commerce and trade portfolios in the government of President Alvaro Uribe.

After the success of what he termed Phase I in tourism development, now is the time to move to Phase II.

Phase I was meant to boost domestic tourism and featured "touristic caravans," or convoys of dozens of cars escorted by 120-strong contingents of police and military, bristling with assault rifles and machine guns along roads considered unsafe because of guerrilla activity.

Most of the roads to vacation spots are safe, Botero said, the result of a series of offensives since Uribe took power in 2002, which pushed the guerrillas back from towns and cities.

"Now the conditions are in place to make a big effort to attract foreign tourists," Botero said. "We have beach resorts on the Caribbean, we have virgin jungle in the Amazon and along the Pacific, we have high mountains in the Andes," he said in a recent interview.

What Colombia does not have is an image that might persuade foreigners to visit Latin America's fourth-largest country and one of its most ecologically and geographically diverse.

Guidebooks invariably refer to Colombia as a land of myths and magic. They rarely fail to mention that it spawned Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude," the masterpiece of a literary genre known as magic realism.

Colombia has a lot of catching up to do. Government figures show that it had just over 1.7 million visitors in 2003. Mexico, in comparison, attracts around 19 million tourists a year and France 80 million.

Holding back foreign visitors are fears for their safety because of a war which is now in its 42nd year and involves the armed forces, two left-wing guerrilla groups, right-wing paramilitary forces, several private armies and the peasants who grow coca leaf and opium poppy, the plants from which cocaine and heroin are made.

Dark image
That has all conspired to give the country a dark image. But, said Botero, "All the figures show that we have made notable advances in improving security. Even the U.S. government's travel warning reflects that."

He was referring to U.S. Department of State advisories about countries it considers dangerous. The latest on Colombia, in May, said "violence by narcoterrorist groups and other criminal elements continues to affect all parts of the country, urban and rural. No one can be considered immune on the basis of occupation, nationality or any other factor."

The warning, however, also noted that violence had decreased markedly in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Barranquilla and Cartagena. "They (the U.S.) modified the warning in a positive sense," said Botero, referring to a previous blanket recommendation not to go to Colombia at all.

The government takes pride in statistics which show that murders have declined by 34 per cent and kidnappings by 56 per cent since 2002. According to international figures, that still leaves Colombia at the top of the world league for kidnappings and near the top for murders.

But safety for tourists is relative. Without using the words tsunami or bomb attack, Botero said Colombia might benefit from the fears inspired by the devastating Indian Ocean floods which killed more than 170,000 people last Christmas and the coordinated blasts last month in the London subway and bus system which killed 50.

So far, Colombia has done little to portray itself as a tourist destination. At least in the United States, Juan Valdez, the mustachioed farmer in commercials for Colombian coffee, is better known than Cartagena, the historic Caribbean port city on the U.N.'s list of world heritage sites.

Botero described the tourism ministry's promotion budget as "small and utterly insufficient." Hotels and restaurants are supposed to make compulsory contributions to a fund for advertising, but the minister admitted that this had not been properly enforced.

Botero said airlines and companies running toll roads leading to tourist destinations should also pay into the fund.

"Colombia can't even put up a good stand at an international tourism fair," he said. "If we want foreign tourists to come, we need to increase tourism promotion."

The government places its hopes for increased tourism on Latin America and Europe, particularly Spain, the leading foreign investor in Colombia. Botero is sure that once Colombia and the United States sign a free trade agreement, more U.S. business executives will visit to conclude deals.

"It will be relatively easy to turn these business travelers into tourists," he said.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Freakin' great! Now I got to find a new country and move...

[Roguish Lawyer]

Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc

Freakin' great! Now I got to find a new country and move...

Sure you don't want to start a new tour guide business?

[FILO]

Originally Posted by Peregrino

FILO - !La proxima ves que quisiera apostar algo - Haganos el favor de traducir lo todo a Ingles para los quienes no hablan Espanol! Peregrino

Si Senor! Translation: I guess all of my Spanish postings from now on will consist of: "donde esta mi diccionario?

[Mike792]

Bill Coming back down in a few days. Do you need Copehagen?

[NousDefionsDoc]

Yes please. Lots.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Originally Posted by Roguish Lawyer

Si! Que es su problemo? LOL

Cual es su problema.

54% is low. The poll was probably taken only with Bogota people. He will be re-elected if they let him run again. The problem is they got used to rotating and the other side wants their turn.