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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: FARC

FARC stories: 80 news summaries

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 A Few Other Nobel 
 Candidates 

Tireless campaigners for human rights, long-suffering Chinese dissidents among those passed over

Oct 9, 09 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama himself said he was not sure he deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and the Weekly Standard seems to agree. Mary Katherine Ham invites you to consider some of the luminaries who were passed over:
  • Sima Samar: A Afghan women’s rights activist who kept
... More »

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Afghanistan • China • Barack Obama • FARC • Nobel Peace Prize • Ingrid Betancourt • Hu Jia • Congo • Wei Jingsheng • Handicap International • Cluster Munition Coalition • Denis Mukwege • Sima Samar

(Newser) - Despite frequent denials by President Hugo Chavez, it seems Venezuela is still arming Colombian rebels on the sly, the New York Times reports. Computer files captured from FARC rebels reveal Venezuela's efforts to get them missiles, sniper rifles, radios, and Venezuelan identity cards. This after Chavez froze relations with Colombia... More »

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Venezuela • Colombia • FARC • militant • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Colombian rebels

(Newser) - Colombia’s guerrilla forces have suffered major setbacks in recent years, and bird lovers are singing a happy tune, the Wall Street Journal reports. Last month saw the return of Steven Hilty, the man who literally wrote the book on Colombian bird watching, after a more than 20-year absence. Another... More »

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birds • Colombia • FARC • guerrilla groups • exotic birds • bird watching • Steven Hilty

 FARC Captive 
 Recalls Horror 
 of Jungle Birth 

Rojas gave birth in captivity, then had son taken away

Apr 26, 09 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - Clara Rojas was one of many prisoners who endured the misery of the Colombian jungle during her 6 years as a hostage of the FARC. But in 2003 her ordeal became almost unbearable: She discovered she was pregnant by one of her captors. "I knew I could die,"... More »

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pregnancy • Colombia • birth • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • jungle • Clara Rojas • hostage

OPINION

 For Afghan Success, 
 Look to Colombia 

Countries face similar troubles—and Colombians know how to fix them

Apr 5, 09 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - When President Obama reviewed US strategy in Afghanistan, the lessons of Iraq were key. But a better comparison might be Colombia, where parallels abound—and where the government has handled insurgents with a fair bit of success, writes Scott Wilson in the Washington Post. Both Afghanistan and Colombia have faced... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • military strategy • Colombia • FARC • Afghanistan war • Obama administration • insurgency • strategy

(Newser) - Three Americans freed in a daring hostage rescue in Colombia last year were thrilled to  escape their FARC captors—and nearly as happy to be free of fellow hostage Ingrid Betancourt. In a new book, the Americans portray Betancourt as a self-centered and malicious prima donna, the New York Times... More »

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Colombia • FARC • Ingrid Betancourt • hostage

FARC Tortures, Kills 17 Native Colombians

Paramilitary swooped into village, kidnapping pacifist tribesmen

Feb 12, 09 6:40 AM CST
(Newser) - The Colombian paramilitary that held Ingrid Betancourt hostage tortured and killed 17 indigenous people who they believed were aiding the government, human rights groups say. CNN reports that FARC members swept into a remote village in southwest Colombia and kidnapped the pacifist Awa Indians, including two minors. One young man... More »

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Latin America • torture • Colombia • FARC • Colombian rebels • indigenous peoples

FARC Defector Gets Asylum in France, $400K

Former rebel carried 8-year hostage out of the jungle

Dec 10, 08 5:48 AM CST
(Newser) - A commander who deserted Colombia's rebel group FARC has been offered $400,000 and asylum in France alongside Ingrid Betancourt, their former hostage. Wilson Bueno Largo fled the jungle in October after years in FARC, carrying a kidnapped congressman on his back. Bueno's defection from the group dealt a substantial... More »

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France • kidnapping • Colombia • FARC • Ingrid Betancourt • hostage

Betancourt Back in Colombia for Anti-FARC Tour

Ex-hostage aims to disarm rebels; some
see only her ambition

Nov 30, 08 6:04 PM CST
(Newser) - Former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt returned to Colombia yesterday to kick off a tour aimed at getting the rebels to disarm, AFP reports. "I am so very happy to be here," said Betancourt, who has received death threats from FARC and will keep her Colombia visit brief. She... More »

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Latin America • Colombia • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Ingrid Betancourt • hostage

US Slaps Sanctions on Chavez Aides

3 charged with backing FARC drug runners, as tensions mount

Sep 13, 08 5:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Escalating the diplomatic crisis with Venezuela, the US has frozen the assets of three members of Hugo Chavez's inner circle it accuses of having links with drug-running Colombian rebels, the Wall Street Journal reports. The sanctions follow the expulsion by Venezuela and Bolivia of their US ambassadors—a move the... More »

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Venezuela • cocaine • Bolivia • diplomat • Evo Morales • FARC • Hugo Chávez • embassy staff • Colombian rebels

Betancourt: Pope, Faith Saved Me

Ex-hostage thanks pontiff for support during 7-year captivity

Sep 1, 08 2:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ingrid Betancourt realized her dreams today when she met privately with Pope Benedict, Reuters reports. The freed French-Colombian hostage says she was overcome with emotion after hearing the pope appeal for her release on the radio during her 7 years in captivity. The 46-year-old Catholic had never read the Bible—... More »

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Pope Benedict XVI • Colombia • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Ingrid Betancourt

Red Cross
Cries Foul
Over Colombia Deception

Objects to symbol use in hostage rescue

Aug 6, 08 3:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Red Cross chided the Colombian government today for its "deliberate misuse" of the Red Cross symbol during a mission to rescue hostages, the BBC reports. “If authenticated, these images would clearly establish an improper use of the Red Cross emblem, which we deplore,” a spokesman said... More »

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Colombia • Geneva Convention • International Committee of the Red Cross • FARC • Alvaro Uribe

 1M-Plus March for
 Colombian Hostages 

Cities across the globe show support for captives

Jul 20, 08 6:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - More than a million people marched in Bogota, Columbia and other world capitals today demanding the freedom of captives held hostage by leftist rebels in the Columbian jungle, AFP reports. Recently liberated captive Ingrid Betancourt led chants of "No More hostages" in Paris on Columbia's independence day, as famous... More »

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captives • Colombia • protests • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Ingrid Betancourt • hostage

Analysis

 Does al-Qaeda
 Do the Fist-Bump? 

Forget fist-jabbing, it's hugs that give terrorists away

Jul 16, 08 12:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Terrorists aren’t big on fist-jabbing or bumping—they’re all about kissing and hugging, writes Juliet Lapidos for Slate in the aftermath of the New Yorker's depiction of knuckle-knocking Obamas, a move referred to by Fox News as a “terrorist fist-jab.” Al-Qaeda members, she writes, are... More »

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Barack Obama • New Yorker magazine • Fox News • Osama bin Laden • IRA • FARC • al-Qaeda

 Freed US Hostages
 Bare Brutal Life
 With 'Animals' 

Captives chained by the neck

Jul 11, 08 3:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three freed American hostages who spent more than five years as captives of Colombian guerrillas paint a harrowing picture of their treatment in a CNN interview. Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes, rescued last week, spent much of their time in captivity chained by the neck, and were subjected... More »

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kidnapping • Colombia • rescue • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • rebels • hostage • Keith Stansell • Marc Gonsalves • Thomas Howes

Betancourt Bares 'Soul Hell' of Captivity

Death was her  'constant companion'
in 6-year ordeal

Jul 10, 08 6:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Freed hostage Ingrid Betancourt lived in "soul hell" for years in captivity under a constant threat of death, she said in a riveting interview on CNN's Larry King Live. "I lived for nearly seven years with the awareness that death was my everyday companion," she said. "... More »

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Colombia • FARC • Ingrid Betancourt • hostage

Our Marriage May Be Over: Betancourt Hubby

Lecompte says love might have died in 6-year internment

Jul 9, 08 2:03 PM CDT
(AP) - The husband of rescued Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt says their marriage may be over. In an interview with the Bogota newspaper El Tiempo, Juan Carlos Lecompte acknowledges what many noted when the two reunited in front of TV cameras after last week's rescue—Betancourt greeted him coldly. More »

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France • marriage • Colombia • FARC • Ingrid Betancourt • hostage

 Hostages
 Captivate
 Hollywood 

Abductees, rescuers become hot properties for book, movie deals

Jul 8, 08 6:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Film projects revolving around last week’s rescue of 15 FARC prisoners are already taking shape, Variety reports. Rumors abound about rights deals and production agreements. Although not everyone is convinced that the bloodless rescue is dramatic enough material for a box office blockbuster, "it's as memorable as Entebbe,... More »

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Colombia • FARC • Ingrid Betancourt • hostage

FARC Will Punish Remaining Captives: Ex-Hostage

US contractors rescued from Colombian rebels speak to press

Jul 8, 08 10:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Speaking to the media for the first time since his rescue Wednesday, a former FARC captive warned that remaining hostages would face retribution over the escape, CNN reports. “Right now, they're being punished because we got rescued,” said US government contractor Marc Gonsalves. They’ll be made to... More »

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captives • Colombia • press conference • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • hostage

Captors Turned Brutal After Betancourt Escape Attempt

Hostages, chained together, also hostile

Jul 7, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ingrid Betancourt and the other former hostages of Colombia’s FARC faced aggression and abuse from their captors—and each other, CNN reports. Rebels were relatively cordial until Betancourt and former Colombian legislator Luis Perez made an escape attempt in 2005, surviving for 5 days in the jungle before they... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Colombia • FARC • Ingrid Betancourt • Colombian rebels • Luis Perez

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