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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia stories: 30 news summaries

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(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

 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

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

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

 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

 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

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

Rebel Bomb Revenge Plot Foiled in Colombia

Explosives planned for Bogota: authorities

Jul 6, 08 8:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Colombian army seized nearly a ton of explosives near Bogota, foiling a bomb plot by the rebel group known as FARC, according to authorities. Military officials suspect a series of bomb attacks were planned across the capital in the next few days in retaliation for the recent high-profile rescue... More »

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Colombia • explosives • bomb • revenge • bomb threat • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Ingrid Betancourt • Bogota • hostage

 Betancourt Arrives in Paris 

Sarkozy welcomes freed hostage home

Jul 4, 08 11:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ingrid Betancourt returned to France today after 6 years in captivity in Colombia, CNN reports. "I have been dreaming for 7 years for this moment," the French-Colombian politician said at Villacoublay airport outside Paris. "I owe everything to France. You all shared my despair, my family's despair.... More »

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

UPDATED

 Freed Hostages Back in US 

Contractors flown to medical centers for tests, reunions

Jul 3, 08 10:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three American hostages are back on US soil today for the first time in five years, CNN reports, after a late-night landing at an Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas. The men were taken to an Army medical center, where, after undergoing tests and debriefings, they are expected to... More »

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Colombia • FARC • security contractors • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • hostage

ANALYSIS

 Sun Setting on FARC Rebellion 

Key link to past now dead, and Colombia's efforts at last paying off against rebels

May 29, 08 10:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - FARC chief Manuel Marulanda’s death might not be a fatal blow to Colombia's Marxist rebels, but the Economist sees an organization on the way out anyway. In its mid-'90s heyday, FARC boasted a force of 19,000 soldiers that threatened Bogota, the capital; today, the group is fragmented, with... More »

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Colombia • FARC • Alvaro Uribe • Manuel Marulanda • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Colombian rebels • Alfonso Cano

Colombian Rebel Leader Rumored Dead

'Sure Shot' founded Marxist FARC more than 40 years ago

May 24, 08 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Columbian rebel leader Manuel Marulanda Velez is dead, according to an interview with an official in a weekly magazine, AFP reports. The elusive FARC leader, known as “Sure Shot,” helped start the Marxist rebel group in the 1960s to battle Colombia's conservative government. He was rumored to have... More »

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Colombia • FARC • Manuel Marulanda • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Colombian rebels • Juan Manuel Santos

 Sarko: Betancourt Near Death 

French president renews call for FARC ro release hostage

Apr 1, 08 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy today reiterated his call for FARC to free hostage Ingrid Betancourt, saying the Colombian-French politician is "in danger of imminent death," Reuters reports. After 6 years in the rebel guerrillas' custody, Betancourt reportedly began a hunger strike Feb. 23. "Free Ingrid Betancourt and the weakest... More »

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Nicolas Sarkozy • France • Colombia • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Ingrid Betancourt • hunger strike • Colombian rebels • guerrilla groups • hostage

Colombia Offers Swap: Hostages for Prisoners

FARC must release ailing Betancourt for deal to go through

Mar 28, 08 10:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - After more than 6 years in captivity, Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt will go free if FARC agrees to a deal Alvaro Uribe signed off on last night, the Guardian reports. The Colombian president issued a decree saying the country will release imprisoned rebel fighters in exchange for Betancourt, a onetime... More »

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Colombia • guerrilla • FARC • Alvaro Uribe • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Ingrid Betancourt • guerrilla groups • Luis Carlos Restrepo • hostage

'Merchant of Death' Denies Arms Charges

Viktor Bout, nabbed in Thailand, says he was just on vacation

Mar 9, 08 8:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Viktor Bout, the international arms dealer caught last week in a US sting operation in Thailand, told police he was vacationing when authorities nabbed him for trying to sell weapons to Colombian rebels, Reuters reports. Bout, nicknamed the "Merchant of Death" for business dealings with groups like the Taliban,... More »

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terrorism • Thailand • Colombia • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Viktor Bout • Merchant of Death

Venezuela
Adds Firepower
on Colombian Border

Tanks, aircraft deployed as standoff escalates

Mar 5, 08 2:28 PM CST
(Newser) - Venezuela deployed tanks to the Colombian border, Reuters reports, as Latin American tensions remained high enough that Hugo Chavez warned of an Andean war. Though Colombia refused to send reinforcements to its border, the mobilization of heavy artillery, including support from air and sea forces, is the first in the... More »

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military • Venezuela • Colombia • Ecuador • tanks • FARC • Hugo Chávez • Alvaro Uribe • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Rafael Correa

Ecuador Wants Apology on FARC; US Backs Bogota

Bush to Colombia: We're with you

Mar 5, 08 7:07 AM CST
(Newser) - Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, is in Brazil today, pushing for an apology from Colombia for its incursion into Ecuador to attack FARC guerrillas Saturday. While most Latin American nations, including Brazil, have condemned the cross-border attack, the White House yesterday unequivocally backed Colombia in the rapidly escalating crisis. Correa heads... More »

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Venezuela • Colombia • Argentina • Cristina Fernandez • Caracas • Ecuador • FARC • Hugo Chávez • Alvaro Uribe • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Rafael Correa • Organization of American States • George W. Bush

FARC Hostage Near Death
in Jungle

Former presidential candidate gravely ill, says released captive

Feb 28, 08 8:21 PM CST
(Newser) - A high-profile hostage still held by Colombian rebels is near death because of mistreatment and a lack of medicine, a former fellow captive said today. Ingrid Betancourt, seized by FARC rebels six years ago while campaigning for the presidency, is sick with hepatitis and liver problems, says Luis Eladio Perez,... More »

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Nicolas Sarkozy • Colombia • FARC • Hugo Chávez • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Ingrid Betancourt • jungle • Luis Eladio Perez • hostage

FARC Rebels Free 4 Hostages

Prisoners were politicians, who had been held for more than 6 years

Feb 27, 08 2:56 PM CST
(Newser) - Colombian FARC rebels today set free four former Colombian legislators who had been held hostage for more than six years. The deal was brokered by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and three of the four will fly to Caracas to speak with him. The fourth is in poor health and may... More »

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Venezuela • Colombia • FARC • Hugo Chávez • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Colombian legislators • hostage

Thousands Protest Colombia Rebels

Movement harnesses Facebook in mass rally

Feb 5, 08 3:19 AM CST
(Newser) - In a mammoth Facebook-inspired protest, as many as 2 million demonstrators flooded the streets of Bogota yesterday, and thousands more marched in other parts of Colombia and nearly 100 cities worldwide as people called for an end to Colombia's guerrilla group FARC. "No more kidnapping, no more lies, no... More »

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Colombia • protests • guerrilla • FARC • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia • Bogota

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