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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:19 pm 
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FARC is a name for one of the groups fighting in Colombia.

I think I am correct when I say that they have many supporters among the poorer, rural class. (not all the rural class)

anyway, they're some bad dudes.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:14 pm 
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C-dude,
No, you'd be mistaken.

FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is a guerrila army that preys on the poorest of people. The people fear them because they take whatever they want. If they say "you will provide this", you will provide it.

In June 2004, 34 coca farmers were found bound hand and foot and shot with automatic weapons. Blame was placed on the FARC-EP by the government, and after several days of uncertainty the FARC-EP publicly claimed responsibility for the massacre, saying they had killed the farmers for being supporters of right-wing paramilitaries and accusing the government of shedding "crocodile tears" for their deaths.


They convince the young men (and women) to join them in the "revolution". They provide them with lies and a promise of a better life then they control them forever. This works best with poor people. If they threaten to leave they are told that their families will be killed.

Their bullshit ideology was lost years ago, they just use it as a front. Now they're only interested in making money to survive.

They use extortion, kidnapping and drug trafficing to fund their army. They oftentimes have better weopons than the government troops. Or they did until the U.S. started supplying them with better stuff.

Yep, nice guys.

http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/farc.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FARC


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:54 pm 
Witling wrote:
They convince the young men (and women) to join them in the "revolution". They provide them with lies and a promise of a better life then they control them forever. This works best with poor people. If they threaten to leave they are told that their families will be killed.

Their bullshit ideology was lost years ago, they just use it as a front. Now they're only interested in making money to survive.


Nice post Witling. The above is very true in many areas where the ringleaders purposely keep people lame and dumb and unable to do anything different so the ringleaders can continue without even a logical challenge.

*


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:33 am 
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Regarding the differences among Colom's, study Dogman. He's right on the money...

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 Post subject: Colombia
PostPosted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:48 am 
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Sounds like the verict is clear.
Cali and Medillin are places that could be better options than Costa Rica.
I would guess you spanish better be faily good to broken spanish though.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:47 pm 
Not a Newbie I just don't post much!

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Yes you are right about the FARC, I have been following that subject for years since I have some ties with this subject. I was in Bogata a year and a half ago for a week and the FARC was having their anaversery so we could not run around too much.
If you go out of Bogata ring for a certain distance, the greater the risk is for problems to araise. The good news is that the Colombians are making progress in cuting down the FARC and it will all depend on what happens to the leader since he is getting older. The rate of murders and kidnappings have gone down in the last 4 years so this is good news.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:32 pm 
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About 4 years ago my ex-wife's cousin had to leave their farm outside Cali as the FARC was moving too close and taking whatever they wanted.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:12 am 
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Here is another report on the FARC.

One of their bombs went off in the capitol of Bogata

I don't blame any colombiania looking for a way out.

You did a good thing Wit, helping your colombiana with a new life.

Quote:
Colombia's FARC rebels kill 18 govt soldiers
Colombia's leftist rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), killed 18 government soldiers and injured dozens more in three separate attacks on Monday, a week before the presidential inauguration, army officials said.

In one of the bloodiest attacks in recent years, FARC rebels ambushed an army patrol in the province of Norte de Santander, close to the border with Venezuela.

Army officials said that 15 government troops, including an officer, a non-commissioned officer and 13 ordinary soldiers. Were killed in the attack.

The group had been on its way to investigate reports about a car bomb at a highway.

The ambush coincided with a car bombing in northeastern Bogota on Monday morning, which killed one man and injured 21 soldiers and one civilian woman.

Bombers had packed the car with 20 kg of explosives, and activated the bomb when an army bus carrying 45 troops was passing.

Also on Monday, two soldiers died and six more were injured in another bomb attack in Tumaco, a port on Colombia's Pacific coast, which borders Ecuador.

The soldiers died in a FARC ambush when they were chasing FARC rebels who had firebombed a public bus on a main road leading to Pasto, the capital of the Tumaco department, army officials said.

Police and army officials said they believed the rebel attacks were intended to sabotage next Monday's inauguration for Alvaro Uribe, who was re-elected president earlier this year.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:31 am 
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While it is true that the FARC is still around and should be monitored by international travelers...I still look at it more objectively than most media people do who love to magnify death and destruction. To not go to Colombia because of these border clashes in Colombia with the FARC is like not going to the USA because more than 15 people die EVERY DAY there in drug infested, gang controlled, lawless sections of most of our major cities. Its all a matter of where you go in the country. If you want to go looking for trouble, you will find it there...or any major USA city, and most any Latin country for that matter. Cant wait til my next trip to Colombia. YMMV


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:44 pm 
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oh yes, I plan on visiting.

just don't know if I'd want to live there.

Colombia is a beautiful country and the ladies are stunning.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:06 pm 
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Reminds me of my first trip to Cali in 1999. I was so taken by the beautiful women I saw on the Latinconnections website (extinct) that without thinking I joined the site, made reservations and went.

It wasn't until I got back home that I remembered that less than 2 months earlier a group of people had been herded from a church onto busses by guerillas just to show the government that it could be done and easily.

Where did this take place? In an upscale neighborhood in Cali!

May
The ELN attempts to kidnap an entire congregation at La Maria church in Cali and escapes with 63 people.
http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/colo ... nology.php

Here is a very good document on the guerilla activity in Colombia with maps. Unfortunately it's from 2000.
http://www.ciponline.org/coipr/coipr001.pdf

Californiacationdude,
Yes, I did a "noble" thing (not really). I did what most guys would do if they took the chance, ie. marry a woman with a college degree who spoke some English, was 18 1/2 years younger and just happened to be 5'2", 110 and a babe.

Too bad she left me when she finally realized I wasn't giving in on the baby issue. It had it's ups and downs but all in all a good experience. She looks just as good at 34 as she did at 27. Buy me a beer over Labor Day and I'll tell you all about it.
Wit
P.S. Apparently I haven't learned my lesson, I'm returning to Colombia in October.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:49 pm 
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Witling wrote:
P.S. Apparently I haven't learned my lesson, I'm returning to Colombia in October.


Thats my boy!!! I'm so proud :wink:

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Almost legally single again! Voy a Colombia otra vece!!


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:44 pm 
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If you are ever in Medellin, check out the statues called Pajaros de Paz by Fernando Botero. It is located in the plaza at the east end of the pedestrian walk downtown. The first statue was destroyed by a bomb left by FARC, but Botero left it there to make a statement against the violence. There is a plaque that lists the people who were killed in the explosion, and the last line lists "a woman who could not be identified". It is really chilling. The fortunate thing is that it appears that attacks within the major cities are becomming rare.

Also, a few years ago there was a guy from the U.S. who road his motorcycle through all of Latin America and was kidnapped by the ELN somewhere between Medellin and Bogata. I remember hearing about it on the news, but I just discovered that the guy has a website that talks about his kidnapping. It is interesting reading:

http://www.strikingviking.net/strikingv ... 2&Itemid=1

It appears that Uribe has done a good job of stabilizing FARC and ELN, and the large cities have become as safe as any in Latin America. I wouldn't hesitate a second before returning to Colombia. The country is beautiful, the people are fantastic, and as everyone knows the women are stunning.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:08 pm 
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Colombianas are smoking.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:33 pm 
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If I keep my ticketed departure date from Rio back to the States in December, I'll exceed the 180-day rule here by 3 weeks. I have a few different options on how to handle it. One way is to buy a roundtrip Brazil-Colombia in the interim. I think it would be great to return to Colombia, and then return once more to Brazil, before going to Miami in December.

The problem is the price. Avianca wants around a grand. If I hit Colombia on the way back and don't return to Brazil, I can use my current ticket with a $75 change fee.

But that "pull" to put Colombia in the mix again is strong. It's also less expensive than Brazil once you're there.

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