DU Dud: The Silver Lining to FARC’s Uranium
Colombian police have found 30 kilos (65 lbs.) of depleted uranium (DU). DU is what is left over after natural uranium is enriched. It is less radioactive than natural uranium and consequently useless for building dirty bombs (let alone nuclear weapons.) Tons of the stuff is around and there is virtually no market for DU […]
Update: No FARC Leader in Venezuela
Looks like a false alarm. The man hospitalized in Rubia is not FARC leader Joaquín Gómez. The other story, that Colombia was closing in on another secret FARC leader Alfonso Cano is also unknown, although there are also reports that he was wounded in a helicopter attack on February 21. Venezuela and Colombia collaborated carefully […]
Tipping Point? More FARC Leaders Under Pressure
There are unconfirmed reports that Raul Reyes replacement on the FARC Secretariat, Joaquin Gomez, aka Milton de Jesús Toncel Redondo, is being hospitalized in Venezuela having been shot in the face in fighting in Colombia. Reportedly he is under heavy guard. Another report states that the Colombian military shelled the base of another FARC Secretariat […]
Venezuela & The Terror Supporters List: Pros & Cons
An anonymous State Department source told the Miami Herald that they are exploring the possibility of placing Venezuela on the list of state sponsors of terrorism for their relationship with the FARC – as revealed in the laptops captured from FARC leaders. Being declared a state sponsor of terrorism brings a host of sanctions down […]
Rios Killed by his own Men & Other Updates
The story behind the killing of FARC leader Ivan Rios has become more interesting – and even more indicative that the FARC is on the verge of collapes. Colombia’s Defense Minister now states that Rios was killed by his unit’s security chief. Closely pursued by Colombian Security Forces, the security chief, “Rojas” killed Rios and […]
Another FARC Leader Killed
News from Colombia keeps coming. This afternoon Colombian security killed Ivan Rios, another member of the FARC Estado Mayor Central (Central High Command.) This is the body that governs the organization. Raul Reyes, one of its members was killed last week, touching off a diplomatic spat. This latest strike took place within Colombian territory. It […]
FARC Bait for Bout
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s press release, international arms-trafficker extraordinaire Victor Bout was arrested for plotting to sell weapons to the FARC – not knowing that the reputed FARC representatives were in fact working for the DEA. Only nine months ago another notorious international arms dealer, Monzer al-Kasser was arrested for conspiring to sell […]
FARC Fallout: Assessing Dirty Bomb Claims
Among the more explosive revelations from the laptops of the late FARC leader Raul Reyes is the allegation that the FARC was trafficking in radioactive materials and according to Colombia’s Vice President was planning to build a “dirty bomb.” A dirty bomb (or a radiological dispersal device) is an explosive packed with radioactive materials that […]
Aaron Mannes in NRO on FARC, Chavez, & Colombia
National Review Online ran my article Finding FARC on the fallout from Colombia’s killing of FARC #2 Raul Reyes and Hugo Chavez’s reaction. March 4, 2008 Finding FARCAn important victory for Columbia sparks a major diplomatic spat. By Aaron Mannes The Colombian government’s successful killing of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) number-two Raul Reyes […]
Death of Raul Reyes: FARC’s Zawahiri
The killing of FARC chief ideologue Raul Reyes will have important implications for the FARC and also for the region. Reyes, who’s birth name was Luis Edgar Devia Silva, was the FARC’s chief ideologue and voice to the outside world. He was the first member of the FARC secretariat to be killed. The internal affairs […]