Andres Oppenheimer column: Colombia’s armed rebels are back, with Venezuela’s help
A FARC fighter rests from a trek in the northwest Andes of Colombia. Last week, the rebels announced they are are taking up arms again, accusing President Ivan Duque of failing to uphold the accord.
The Associated Press
By Andres Oppenheimer
Many see the announcement by a dissident group of Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) rebels that they will break a 3-year-old peace deal and resume armed struggle as a domestic problem. But, more likely, it will become a Colombia-Venezuela dispute — and perhaps escalate into a regional conflict.
Colombian President Ivan Duque already has pinned the blame on Venezuela. Hours after the FARC’s Aug. 29 announcement, he said that the leftist rebels are “a narco-terrorist criminal gang that counts on the safe harbor and support of (Venezuelan) dictator Nicolás Maduro.â€
What’s more, the Colombian government said the 32-minute video in which the FARC rebels announced their decision to take up arms again had been taped in Venezuelan territory. Colombian officials say Maduro, with Cuba’s help, has decided to help rearm Colombia’s rebels in an effort to destabilize that country.
Read more at: https://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/andres-oppenheimer-column-colombia-s-armed-rebels-are-back-with/article_3ff05b14-7883-56ba-bd17-2e52d41cea97.html
Quite a lot happening there, I posted the story of Colombian soldiers being ambushed and killed. I believe a number of these FARC guerillas were killed the other day, I'm thinking 11.
They had their insurgency war that lasted decades, 50 years war or something. It displaced about as many people as displaced in Syria, odd, how that doesn't make the same news but the war ended. We will see how it goes from here.
