The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • Sports

    Offense erupts in Caps' victory

  • National

    KUHNHENN: 10% jobless rate is Obama's troubling world

  • World

    Joint forces probe NATO air strike

  • National

    Fla. shooting suspect 'mentally ill'

  • Business

    Parents buying homes for kids at college

  • Politics

    Looking to 2010, GOP focuses on fiscal restraint

  • National

    Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Colombian terrorists

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos

More Stories

  • Iran frees journalists swept up in protests
  • Fla. shooting suspect 'mentally ill'
  • Afghan ministry: NATO strike kills Afghan forces
  • Obama praises those who ended Fort Hood violence

By

As assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, as well as a long-time subscriber to National Geographic magazine, I was disturbed by Carlos Villalon's article "Cocaine Country" in July's issue. It glorified an unrepentant and brutal drug cartel with an established record of delivering death and destruction to families and communities in Colombia and via the drug trade to our schoolyards and front yards in North America.

Contrary to what Mr. Villalon represented in "Cocaine Country," the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is anything but selfless, moral and compassionate.

The FARC has been designated by the State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. FARC leaders are on the list of persons designated by the Treasury Department under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act that Americans are barred from doing business with FARC members. Some members of the FARC leadership are also under criminal indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice for drug-related activity.

From the moment National Geographic's editors saw FARC commander Fabian Ramirez's name and response to Mr. Villalon's request to document the "cocaine culture" in southern Colombia, they should have recognized the inherent bias and propaganda underpinning the story. Further, they should have known they could be seen as lending credibility to those who supply drugs that kill more than 21,000 Americans each year and fund terrorism in our hemisphere.

Moreover, the U.S. government believes "Fabian Ramirez" is actually Jose Benito Cabrera Cuevas. Mr. Cabrera is under indictment in Colombia and, in May 2003, was designated by the president of the United States as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker.

If these were not red flags for the editors, Mr. Villalon's portrayal of the FARC as some sort of benevolent overseer of a company town should have been. Since when is a long history of incalculable evil (bombings, murder, narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, extortion) offset by small, cynical and occasional acts of benevolence? Villains throughout history have engaged in similar "patronage." No less, the FARC.

Overwhelming evidence of FARC terror exists on many levels.

For example, the FARC celebrated the 40th anniversary of its insurgency by setting off a series of bombs across Colombia that killed 13 people and wounded more than a 100. Recently, the FARC massacred more than 30 farmers in a peasant community in a battle over lucrative coca turf near the border of Venezuela. In May 2002, a mortar round fired by FARC guerrillas landed on a church in northwest Colombia, killing 119 people. The FARC is also suspected of being behind the 2003 El Nogal nightclub bombing in Bogota that claimed 36 lives and wounded 160, as well as grenade attacks on two Bogota bars that wounded 72, including four Americans.

12Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Commenting is disabled for this entry.
If you feel there is still something worth mentioning about this entry please contact the author or the site admin.

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. Sniper's ex-wife speaks out on abuse
  3. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  4. Inside the Beltway
  5. Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty
More Top Stories »
  1. 13 killed at Texas army base; psychiatrist accused
  2. Parents buying homes for kids at college
  3. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  4. Army: Suspect said 'Allahu Akbar!' before shooting
  5. Can the 10th Amendment save us?

Most Shared

  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. Parents buying homes for kids at college
  3. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  4. Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate
  5. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
More Top Stories »
  1. Obama's unlearned lesson
  2. EDITORIAL: The grass roots keep growing
  3. Israelis unsure of U.S. support
  4. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  5. Looking to 2010, GOP focuses on fiscal restraint

Most Commented

  1. House OKs health reform bill
  2. Muslims stunned by Fort Hood shooting
  3. Furious scramble for health reform support
  4. 'Gentle' Army psychiatrist displayed worrisome signs
  5. Army: Suspect said 'Allahu Akbar!' before shooting
More Top Stories »
  1. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  2. Obama praises those who ended Fort Hood violence
  3. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  4. House majority leader warns of health bill delays
  5. Making fun of faith

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Blogs & Columns

  • POTUS Notes

    New Dem talking point on Obama approval doesn't wash

  • The Back Story

    12 arrested at Pelosi's office

  • Belief Blog

    Washington goes Greek this week

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Redskins 360

    He Said, She Said Week 9

  • Tara's Two Cents

    On their way to summer vacation..

  • SNOBlog

    Beyond 'Woody'

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.