The FARC Farce

This morning Pajamas Media has a great post analyzing Hugo, Oliver and the FARC - as they "work" together to rescue the freed hostages. Aptly named The FARC Farce: Starring Hugo Chavez , Directed by Oliver Stone it sees through Chavez's strategies searching for the real purpose and exposes the truth as one of political gain for Chavez.

Chavez hailed his hostage-rescue mission as “a first step to open a door toward the path for Colombia to have peace soon.” Baloney. It’s actually a first step to reasserting his influence after his grand election failure while simultaneously trying to make U.S. ally and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe look useless. According to Bloomberg, the Chavez government accredited more than 300 reporters beyond those normally in Venezuela for the event. After all, the revolutionary action hero needs Clark Kent to spread the word.

But positive PR is not what he is looking for; his purpose is quite darker and scarier not only for Venezuela but for the entire South America region.

But Chavez’s key ulterior motive likely rests with extending a hand to the leftist guerrillas who could serve his cause for continental domination. Rewind to 2000, when FARC leader Olga Marin, for example, spoke at Venezuela’s National Assembly and thanked the Venezuelan government for its “support.” A June 2000 video leaked by unhappy members of the Venezuelan military showed FARC and Venezuelan officers meeting and cooperating.

And if you think this is all right wing press propaganda, think again.

“Our government has the respect not just of the FARC but of the ELN (another Marxist Colombian rebel group) and of many other factions in the world,” Chavez boasted Friday from an airbase runway.

Your petrodollars at work; they are not only buying governments but at the same time buying the rebels of the government he opposes. With a recent Peru report of a resurgence of Senderos Luminosos or Shining Path and at least two incidents registered, Chavez's "respect" for such groups is no laughing matter.

Posted by Ventanita at December 31, 2007 08:11 AM