Swiss woman freed in Colombia two weeks after kidnapping

Bogota - A Swiss woman kidnapped from her home in Colombia two weeks ago has been freed after police stormed the kidnappers' hideout, Colombian authorities announced Saturday. The 32-year-old woman, identified as Manuela Frankausser de Cuello, was kidnapped January 9 by unknown armed men from her home in the country's north.

One person was arrested by police. The woman told local media she would remain in Colombia.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305402,swiss-woman-freed-in-colombia-two-weeks-after-kidnapping.html.

Chavez warns of US-Colombia plot

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused the United States and Colombia of conspiring to build a fake guerrilla camp on Venezuelan territory in order to undermine his rule.

In a televised address at Fort Mara military base in the western city of Maracaibo, Chavez referred to the 'possibility' of a US-sponsored initiative by Colombia to put bodies and weapons of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters in a neglected region of Venezuela in order to 'discredit' his government.

Colombia may transport corpses of leftist FARC rebels “to a mountain in Venezuelan territory, build some huts, an improvised camp, put some rifles there… and say 'There it is, the guerrilla camp in Venezuela,'” the Associated Press quoted him as saying on Monday.

“We have evidence that the Colombian government, instructed and supported, or rather directed by the United States, is preparing a false positive,” he noted, using statistical terminology to describe the feasibility of such a scheme.

“The verbal war against Venezuela began weeks ago, saying that we have I don't know how many guerrilla chiefs hidden here… that in Venezuela there are rebel camps protected by the Venezuelan government, which is absolutely false,” the Venezuelan president told soldiers stationed near the country's second largest city.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114865§ionid=351020704.

Colombian governor found with slashed throat

The kidnapped governor of a southern Colombian province has been found dead, hours after a massive military operation was launched to rescue him.

Luis Francisco Cuellar was seized from his house by about 10 gunmen in the capital of the Caqueta province on Monday.

One policeman was killed in the attack and two more wounded.

His body was discovered soon after, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) south of the provincial capital Florencia, with a slashed throat.

"The cowards slit his throat," President Alvaro Uribe said in a nationally broadcast speech.

Cuellar was the most high profile politician abducted and murdered since Uribe came to power in 2002, promising a "safe democracy" and a heavy military crackdown on armed rebel groups.

Hours before the governor's body was found, the president had deployed more than 2,000 military personnel to find the official, stressing that every effort would be made to secure his release.

Cuellar, who turned 69 on Tuesday, had already been kidnapped four times in the past 23 years before he became governor, the Associated Press news agency said.

Authorities believe that the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas have committed the act.

However, the notorious group has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

FARC, Latin America's oldest and longest-fighting rebel force, currently holds hundreds of hostages, including soldiers and local officials.

Uribe has rejected a political dialogue with the group, which is seeking a prisoner swap with the government to exchange its hostages for 500 FARC rebels in government jails.

Last year, some of FARC's most high-profile hostages, including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans, were rescued from their jungle confinement.

Colombian military says 11 rebels were killed

Bogota - The Colombian military Wednesday said it had killed 11 rebels, including a top commander, in an air attack in northwestern Colombia. The Government Secretary of the province Antioquia, Andres Rendon, identified the dead leader as Ruben Garcia, alias Danilo, a commander in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

There was no confirmation from independent sources.

President Alvaro Uribe, who is in Copenhagen at the climate change summit, congratulated the police and military for "the killing of 11 FARC rebels."

FARC, the largest and oldest rebel group of the South American country, have been fighting against the state for 45 years with no end in sight.

Aerial attack on rebel camp kills seven guerrillas in Colombia

Bogota - Seven leftist guerrillas including two minors were killed when the Colombian air force bombed a rebel camp in Guaviare province, the military reported. Armed Forces commander General Freddy Padilla said two other guerrillas of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) were captured after the aerial attack,

"Seven guerrillas were killed, including one who was in charge of narcotics trafficking matters," he said. "Two others were captured, one who was wounded and the other surrendered."

The commander said the aerial operation was designed to destroy a front-line camp of the FARC, which operates in the eastern part of the country and is allegedly involved in trafficking narcotics.

Venezuela blasts Colombia as region talks defense

QUITO (Reuters) - Venezuela's government on Friday blasted Colombia's defense minister as a "crazy sniper" at a summit in Quito, where South American ministers agreed to sign a partial accord over security in the region.

The remarks came at a time of heightened tensions between Colombia and Venezuela, two Andean neighbors caught up in a simmering diplomatic dispute that is raising the risk of border violence and damaging bilateral trade ties.
Colombia had refused to send senior cabinet ministers to the UNASUR meeting of South American countries in Ecuador's capital, citing "offenses" the country has suffered during its feud with Venezuela.

"Colombia's defense minister stayed in Bogota and started to say things, like some crazy sniper, irresponsible, warmongering, firing shots at Venezuela," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told reporters. "Why didn't he come here to say face to face what he said today."

Maduro's comments came just hours after Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva reiterated charges Colombian FARC commander Ivan Marquez and several commanders from the smaller ELN rebel group were taking shelter in Venezuela.

Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, a fierce U.S. adversary, says a military pact signed in October between Colombia and the United States could set the stage for a U.S. invasion of his OPEC country. He calls President Alvaro Uribe a traitor to the region for signing the deal.

Washington and Bogota say the base plan will be used only for their long cooperation on anti-drug and counter-insurgency operations against rebels and drug gangs.

Venezuela and Colombia have often sparred about spillover from Colombia's long guerrilla war and over accusations Chavez has backed FARC rebels. Both governments may be seeking to gain domestic leverage over the crisis, but Chavez has ratcheted up tensions by ordering his army commanders to prepare for war.

South American leftist leaders have said they are worried over the reach of the U.S.-Colombia base plan. But in Quito, regional foreign and defense ministers reached a partial agreement on more guarantees over the use of security deals.

"There were some advances on the question that has worried us a lot, that is the one about formal guarantees," Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorin told reporters in Quito.

But Venezuela was joined by fellow leftist governments, Ecuador and Bolivia, who said the plan to allow the U.S. military more access to Colombian bases remained a problem and a possible threat to regional security.