Latin America Breaking News

When you start putting radars in aircraft and modern weapons the price must get silly... it is the enormous flaw in the concept of LIFT being used as light fighters/strike aircraft... they often don't end up being cheaper than a dedicated aircraft... which in many ways would be better suited to the job.

Former commander of Colombian rebel group FARC announces resumption of struggle

As Former Colombian rebel leader announces return to arms reported by AFP news agency Hector Velasco, a former senior commander of the Colombian rebel army, the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) Ivan Marquez announced on Thursday [29 August 2019] that he again takes up arms with other partisans who distance themselves from the historic peace agreement signed by the FARC with the Colombian government.

“We are announcing to the world that the second Marketalia has begun,” said Ivan Marquez, dressed in a green military uniform, in a video posted on YouTube, referring to a rural settlement that was considered the site of the FARC in the 1960s.


Former high-ranking commander of the Colombian rebel army Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Ivan Marquez announces the resumption of armed struggle with the government of Colombia, 08/29/2019 (c) video frame on YouTube / AFP


Colombian conservative president Ivan Duque replied that he would send a special military unit to track down Marquez and other dissenters, who he said were supported by Venezuelan socialist president Nicolas Maduro.

The Special Peace Process Court (JEP), charged with administering justice for crimes committed during the half-century armed conflict in Colombia, later announced that the arrest warrants for Marquez and others who had been suspended in the peace process have now resumed again .

Marquez accused the government of betraying the hard-won agreement that most of the 7,000 FARCs laid down their arms after a half-century armed conflict.

The whereabouts of Marquez, the number two leader of the FARC Marxist group and its main negotiator at the 2016 peace agreement, has been unknown for more than a year.

“This is a very alarming statement,” said Colombian Government Commissioner for Peace Process Miguel Ceballos.

“This is not surprising for the national government. Unfortunately, these people have already shown clearly with their behavior that they have turned their back on the peace agreement, ”Ceballos said in an interview with Colombian Radio Blu.

In a 32-minute video, Marquez appears in the Colombian jungle surrounded by 17 men and women with rifles. Behind them is a yellow FARC banner.

Marquez stated that the government tricked them into executing the agreement, unilaterally changed its wording and did not provide legal guarantees to former militants, in addition to other government offenses.

All of this, he said, “forced us to return to the field,” Marquez said.

“We were never ideologically defeated. Therefore, the struggle continues, ”said Marquez.

FARC will coordinate its activities with the last rebel group in Colombia, the National Liberation Army, “and those comrades who have not lowered their flags,” he said.

"Special squad"

Colombian President Duke said he ordered the creation of a special military unit “with enhanced intelligence, investigation and mobility capabilities” to track Marquez’s group.

“Colombians must clearly understand that we are faced not with the new guerilla, but with criminal threats from a gang of drug terrorists who have shelter and support from the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro,” said the President of Colombia.

Duke's comments were supported by Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who accused Marquez of using Venezuelan territory and defending Maduro “to threaten our sovereignty” after a telephone conversation with the Colombian leader.

Caracas rejected these allegations when Maduro Diosdado Cabello's right hand said: “What does Venezuela have to do with it?”

Marquez and his fugitive rebel movement colleague Jesus Santrich distanced themselves from the 2016 peace agreement.

Santrich, who went underground earlier this year after the United States tried to extradite him on charges of drug trafficking, also appeared on video.

Although most FARC fighters laid down their arms to return to civilian life, about 2,300 people refused to do so.

According to Colombian military intelligence, these rebels exist mainly due to drug trafficking and illegal mining.

On Thursday, President Duque said the group was hiding its criminal activities under "false ideological clothing."

With United Nations support, the peace agreement ended the rebel struggle of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and turned it into a political party called the United Alternative Revolutionary Forces (Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común) using the same abbreviation FARC.

'Hit below the belt"'

Although this peace agreement did not stop the violence in the country — other leftist rebels, right-wing militias and drug dealers are still fighting their battles — it has helped reduce it.

Duque was elected President of Colombia last year with a promise to amend the agreement, which he considers too lenient to former FARC militants guilty of serious crimes.

Meanwhile, the FARC political party condemned the delays in applying the agreement, as well as the lack of legal guarantees and security for its members.

It indicated reports of the killing of 140 former partisans and 31 members of their families since the signing of the agreement.

The new FARC political party, which emerged from the rebel army in accordance with the peace agreement, said it regrets the announcement of Marquez.

Rodrigo Londono, chairman of the FARC party, who spoke during the war under the pseudonym Timoshenko [in honor of the Soviet Marshal - bmpd], called Marquez’s performance a “weak move”.

Londo said most FARC former fighters still believe in a peace agreement. But others hesitate and can buy into what Marquez does, Londono said.

“It could hurt us,” he said on Colombian radio.

Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for reaching a peace agreement with the FARC, defended the agreement and insisted that most former FARC members still believe in it.

“We must be cruel to the deserters. The battle for peace does not stop, ”wrote Santos.






https://bmpd.livejournal.com/3757000.html

Great, pay back time!

Ecuador's Government Departs Capital Amid Deepening Violence And Unrest

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/08/protesters-swarm-ecuador-capital-as-president-moves-out

If there is a regime change in Quito, there'll be hard times ahead for Colombia in her dealing with Venezuela.

Tsavo Lion wrote:Ecuador's Government Departs Capital Amid Deepening Violence And Unrest

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/08/protesters-swarm-ecuador-capital-as-president-moves-out

If there is a regime change in Quito, there'll be hard times ahead for Colombia in her dealing with Venezuela.

Well that escalated pretty quickly....talk about a bumerang effect

They're already blaming Maduro for it....

Government declared martial law

A international reflection by a chilean.

What would be the main powers leaders thinking about Chile in this minute? Probably Chile is the least of their concerns, because there are so many places were they are facing each other (Syria for example). At the international level, the chilean affair is not everywhere in first page, it is just another crisis within many.

Nevertheless, soon the COP 25 and APEC summits will occur. Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, the world’s most powerful presidents in this moment, that represents different blocs (USA-China,Russia), will be here, in Chile.

I wonder if they will talk about this, because there are several implications.

For nobody is secret that the USA controls Chile and their political class. With bribes, financial and political support, as the main supplier off weapons to the armed forces (together with Israel) and as architects of our experimental economic system, that then they tried to apply (partially). Nevertheless, USA is in plain crisis at a world level and is loosing power rapidly. USA is the second commercial partner of Chile

China, by the other hand, is living the contrary. Is in the rise, its power grows day after day. Every time it has more influence among other countries and it is the first commercial partner of Chile. What it means, that it has de facto control over Chile.

Russia, is an actor with its strength is not the economic (6th economy in PPP) but its power resides in resources, industrial base and specially the military. Russia is China’s nuclear umbrella against USA. Russia has been taking the role of mediator in many conflicts and i would not be surprised that if this conflict escalates, Putin would agree to mediate.

Before this things complicate. By a side the USA does not want its southern cone son to be destabilize, but it does not want to lose this government either because it is their more direct way to control the country. What it means that the USA won’t like to see the people win.

China by the contrary, despite it does not want to see Chile destabilized , it would look positively that the USA lose power in the country, where they could fill the space. We would change western investment for asian investment. The issue is that the cultural closeness of the USA with the chilean elite facilitate its control , versus the remoteness that these have with China.

I don’t doubt that this government will fall and the people will triumph, but i am uneasy about the geopolitical situation in which our country will be. The military is controlled by the USA, so, there will be extreme resistance by them (as of now the USS Wasp is the Valparaíso harbor). The business elites are capable to selling their grandmother, but they prefer the USA to China, because at the end, even if it does not look like, they are communists.

If the government continues this way, it will be getting paranoid and will start blaming Maduro and the “international left”, that will derive in blaming Russia as the mastermind (following the USA script). We all know that messing with Russia is messing with China.

We need to have a lot of caution from the foreign media, if they are receiving our info and looks imparcial (because it is not their countries), remember who are their friends and with who are their media groups connected with.

This is why i call to continue the demands, to prepare for a complicated future and that Chile must remain united to finally build a more just country.


PS: i add a very didactic video by the Russian tv (in spanish)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM-SAZTroWU&t=1s

The old power game continues... central and south America are american and they wont tolerate any other power being involved... politically, economically or militarily... it has nothing to do with the country itself... they are happy to destroy a countries economy and make them poor because they are easier to control when they are poor.

Russian and Chinese trade and influence would lead to a more prosperous and stronger country that they would lose control of an that cannot be allowed to happen... even if it means economic sanctions, sea blockades... CIA death squads... they don't care.

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-support-venezuela-against-regime-change-navy-1513122?piano_t=1

Not too long from now Brazil may be the next domino to fall from the US lap.

https://regnum.ru/news/polit/2994986.html

Tsavo Lion wrote:https://www.newsweek.com/russia-support-venezuela-against-regime-change-navy-1513122?piano_t=1

Not too long from now Brazil may be the next domino to fall from the US lap.

https://regnum.ru/news/polit/2994986.html

Brazil wont become a eastern communist shithole though. Brazilians are individualists, like the french. We dont accept rubbish like communism

But u had socialist run gov. before. Canada, Austria & Sweden had elements of socialism for many years. No1 plans to build communism anymore, even China & NK. Venezuela is socialist with elements of capitalism, just like China & Vietnam.
Brazil is just a huge "banana republic" with few industries. Agriculture, big size, large military, & natural resources r what makes it a regional power.
https://www.pravdareport.com/world/144608-brazil_crisis/

Aristide wrote:

Tsavo Lion wrote:https://www.newsweek.com/russia-support-venezuela-against-regime-change-navy-1513122?piano_t=1

Not too long from now Brazil may be the next domino to fall from the US lap.

https://regnum.ru/news/polit/2994986.html

Brazil wont become a eastern communist shithole though. Brazilians are individualists, like the french. We dont accept rubbish like communism

The French only accepts Islamism of their country.

Bolsonaro has fucked with everyone in Brazil, the police, the military and everyone else. It is hard to rule now for Bolsonaro.

par far wrote:
Bolsonaro has fucked with everyone in Brazil, the police, the military and everyone else. It is hard to rule now for Bolsonaro.

But, but he was the US choice, he has to stay.

Nicaragua's Somoza was too.

You can moan about communism all you want Aristide, but Chavez and Maduro providing housing for the poor and providing education and health care means instead of a country of beggers, he has a country of people who can work and earn a proper living... and they supported him and kept him in power when most European countries would have folded like an origami flamingo...

I know the concept is alien in the west... the rich bribe the politicians and become richer and who cares about anyone else...

Tsavo Lion wrote:Nicaragua's Somoza was too.

somoza was a dicactor, an one family sultanistic regime. Bolsonaro was voted by brazilians unfortunately..

Trump may get evicted from the White House by the 2021. Good luck to Bolsonaro then.

The real problem is accountability, you can pretty much say anything you like to get voted in... there are dozens of companies that spend enormous amounts of money to find out what the people want and why the vote the way they do and all that can be used to get anyone elected... the problem is that that information is available to anyone with the money to buy it.

Once they are voted in they can do as they please within reason and still have a chance of getting reelected if the opposition are idiots and have unknowns as candidates... better the devil you know... an unknown is a risk and the economy and markets don't like risk... vote for me...

https://asiatimes.com/2020/07/brazils-money-laundering-scandal-from-hell/?mc_cid=1265717e21&mc_eid=5455568640

Tsavo Lion wrote:https://asiatimes.com/2020/07/brazils-money-laundering-scandal-from-hell/?mc_cid=1265717e21&mc_eid=5455568640

Thanks, a fascinating read. Brazil, a fundamentally corrupt country. But how does anyone live long enough to reverse it?

IMO, the only way to change things for them is to break up into smaller fully independent states. Until then, tough shit!

Chileans have made history, voting to scrap Pinochet’s 1980 constitution.

https://twitter.com/BrasilWire/status/1320517891394048000

Peru Congress Votes to Impeach President Martin Vizcarra

https://sputniknews.com/latam/202011101081110178-peru-congress-votes-to-impeach-president-martin-vizcarra/

Peruvian interim president Manuel Merino has just resigned amid an acute political & social crisis.

Centre-right wing Morado Party member Francisco Sagasti is the new Peruvian president.