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2004-09-23 Caribbean-Latin America
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12 Kidnapped In Colombia Since Last Friday
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September 22, 2004
... The latest case occurred on Tuesday night along a highway in Antioquia Department. An armed group, probably the F.A.R.C. (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia or Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia-Colombia's largest leftist guerrilla/terrorist group) stopped a vehicle from the "Cooperativa de Transportadores de Occidente" (Western Transport Cooperative or Enterprise-which is a company that operates small passenger minibuses) that was heading from MedellÃn to the town of Urabä in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The vehicle was stopped at Cajones, between Dabeiba & Uramita. A car driven by the subversives pulled alongside the victim's vehicle (a minibus) and swerved in front of the it, causing the vehicle's driver to stop, at which time the terrorists made the 16 passengers get out. The driver and a merchant, who as of yesterday hadn't been identified, were kidnapped by the guerrillas. The authorities were investigating yesterday whether or not the minibus had been forsaken by explosives.
(I guess the guerrillas blew it up afterwards...)
After the kidnapping the insurgents, that could be members of the 5th or 34th Fronts of the F.A.R.C., drove by the El Mohän Bridge & killed Esneider Higuita Echeverry, who was located at a restaurant. Jorge MejÃa, Secretary of the Government of Antioquia, explained that these occurrences are astonishing considering that the highway in question is one of the most secure in the entire Colombian Department of Antioquia.
Well, that say's a lot about the security of the roadways in your jurisdiction there bud!
Continued from Page 1
"They sure made good use of a few scarce minutes to kidnap two passengers & kill a farmer," he indicated. Meanwhile three of the six people that were kidnapped this past Friday in a rural area of Florida (Valle del Cauca) returned home on Tuesday night. Jacqueline Varela Lozano, who is six months pregnant, & her aunts Adiela & Amparo Lozano Rebolledo, were released in the town seat (main town) by the men that had maintained them as captives for the last six days after they were kidnapped at a farm just minutes from Florida. Her 76 year old grandmother Cecilia Rebolledo, her uncle Jairo Lozano & her husband Juan Carlos Andrade Silva, who is the manager of a local cleaning business, remain kidnapped. "They (Jacqueline & her aunts) are in good health, even though theyâre having emotional problems. Theyâre not eating and theyâre crying about their grandmotherâs luck," said a relative.
The inhabitants of Florida demonstrated in the streets of the town yesterday with white flags, placards & signs demanding the liberation of the kidnapping victims. 5,000 school children and local government officials shouted "Long live peace, long live freedom. We donât want violence." Martha Silva, mother of Juan Carlos Andrade, one of those being held said, "We donât know why theyâre being held, or why theyâre being detained. We donât understand why those men decided to take them without an explanation." VÃctor Gallego Vallejo, Mayor of Florida, explained that the motivations and identities of the culprits are unknown. Gallego added that the authorities are searching for the victims, but above all theyâre holding out hope that with the mediation of the Office of the Director of Peace for Valle Department and the Public Defenderâs Office their liberation will be secured.
E.L.N. Implicated
Meanwhile seven of the sixteen that were kidnapped on Tuesday in San Jacinto del Cauca, in the southern BolÃvar Department, remain in the custody of the kidnappers. The Governor of the Colombian Department of BolÃvar, Libardo Simancas, said that some of the nine released victims implicated the E.L.N. (Ejército para la Liberación Nacional or Army for National Liberation-Colombiaâs second largest leftist guerrilla group) as the authors of the kidnapping. "We ask that they (the kidnappers) respect the lives of the victims that are in their power. They are civilians {...and anything that should happen to them...} is against international human rights. We should also remember that the victims in this case are humble (poor people) farmers," he affirmed. The Governor said that the Armed Forces (Government forceshave been dispatched to the area to try and mount a rescue operation.
via El Tiempo
translated especially for Rantburg by Kentucky Beef 
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Posted by Kentucky Beef 2004-09-23 8:00:24 AM||
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