Drugs & US Law Enforcement (2006-2017)

[jonSlack]

AP - Colombia: Betancourt, US hostages freed

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's military says it has rescued 15 hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors, from leftist rebels.

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday.

Just saw this on CNN as Breaking News. Cannot find much on the Internet as of yet. MTF.

Currently, it is being reported that the hostages were rescued in a military operation as opposed to being released.

[Wildcat]

Noticed that, too. Great news. Makes me wish I had a bottle of Club Colombia so I could celebrate properly.

[jonSlack]

Washington Post - Colombia Rescues Hostages Held by Guerrilla Group for Years

Santos said the rescue, dubbed Operation Jaque and carried out by Colombian military intelligence, began with the infiltration of a FARC squad commanded by guerrilla known as Cesar. The squad has controlled a group of hostages in recent years, he said. Jaque is a Spanish chess term meaning "check."

In a ruse in which Cesar was told the hostages were to be flown to a meeting with the FARC commander known as Alfonso Cano, the hostages were brought together and put on board a helicopter supposedly operated by a humanitarian organization, Santos said. In fact, the organization was fictitious, and the helicopter belonged to the Colombian army, he said.

While the hostages were flown to freedom, Cesar and another member of his squad who were to accompany them to the meeting were "neutralized in the helicopter" and will be brought to justice, the defense minister said.

Wow. How disrupted must command and control and overall communications within FARC be to allow an operation like that to succeed? Or is it more likely that "Cesar" is now going to disappear into a Witness Protection Program with full amnesty?

As for about 15 other members of Cesar's squad, as well as other FARC guerrillas a few kilometers away, "we decided not to attack them" in hopes that the rebel group will reciprocate by releasing the rest of its hostages, Santos said.

I wonder what those 15 are doing, and thinking, right now...

[mmx1]

Unfortunately, looks like there's a downside to the rescue:
Colombian military used Red Cross emblem in rescue

[Ron Humphrey]

Unfortunately, looks like there's a downside to the rescue:
Colombian military used Red Cross emblem in rescue

And it is a valid one, it brings to mind some questions .

1- Have the FARC been respectful of Red Cross immunity in the past?
(do they respect them and treat them as nuetral)

2- How do we know this is that symbol, its is during the rescue vs recovery, it is an actual use for deception,etc?

3- This isn't just spin trying to give a now probably very paranoid organization an excuse to trust noone / possibly take some softer targets hostage?

[Rex Brynen]

2- How do we know this is that symbol, its is during the rescue vs recovery, it is an actual use for deception,etc?

At this point, it would appear from the footage that someone from the Columbian military was wearing an ICRC bib during the actual deception/rescue.

If so, this is a very large no-no (and a violation of international humanitarian law), regardless of whether the FARC respects the red cross itself.

[wm]

I think it is a pretty excessive leap of faith that some guy was wearing ICRC markings during the rescue attempt from the minimal evidence I saw displayed at the link. (F6 source and content eval from where I sit.) BTW, I thought the rescue operation was based on a deception--the rescuers were passing themselves off as FARC insurgents, come to move the captives to another location. So, if an ICRC marking was worn, perhaps that is a tactic used by FARC and was used by the rescuers to improve their credability as bad guys rather than to pass themselves off as ICRC personnel.

[Creon01]

This may seem like a good idea to some but I can't begin to explain why in the long term this is going to hurt the cause. Although I'm happy that these hostages are free, the use of well known humanitarian symbols as an integral part of the mission will feed into the belief that humanitarian NGOs, the UN and the Red Cross are all just tools of the US and full of spies. Does the end justify the means on this occasion? Hard to justify to me, but like I said I’m happy to see these guys back home.

[Fuchs]

This may seem like a good idea to some but I can't begin to explain why in the long term this is going to hurt the cause. Although I'm happy that these hostages are free, the use of well known humanitarian symbols as an integral part of the mission will feed into the belief that humanitarian NGOs, the UN and the Red Cross are all just tools of the US and full of spies. Does the end justify the means on this occasion? Hard to justify to me, but like I said I’m happy to see these guys back home.

That was a covert mission. They were obviously not wearing visible military uniforms as well. The kidnappers thought that the helicopter was a charter helicopter.
I believe that's not covered by conventions.

And everybody knows that NGO personnel, UN organization personnel, embassy personnel and journalists have a high probability of co-operation with interested nations. The IAEA inspectors that searched in Iraq during Saddam's time were full of MI6/CIA spies, for example.

[Rex Brynen]

That was a covert mission. They were obviously not wearing visible military uniforms as well. The kidnappers thought that the helicopter was a charter helicopter.
I believe that's not covered by conventions.

And everybody knows that NGO personnel, UN organization personnel, embassy personnel and journalists have a high probability of co-operation with interested nations. The IAEA inspectors that searched in Iraq during Saddam's time were full of MI6/CIA spies, for example.

The ICRC is a different kettle of fish--the red cross insignia is protected under Chapter VI of the 1906 Geneva Convention (and subsequent IHL), and its misuse is a war crime.

[Tom Odom]

And everybody knows that NGO personnel, UN organization personnel, embassy personnel and journalists have a high probability of co-operation with interested nations. The IAEA inspectors that searched in Iraq during Saddam's time were full of MI6/CIA spies, for example.

Sorry you are wrong in that assertion. Everyone does not know that and to assert that embassy and NGO personnel are all part of the same group is ill-informed. The IAEA was an international group and its composition was openly discussed in the media. That is a completely different case from an ICRC worker in Columbia or elsewhere. In cases like the camps in Zaire, NGO workers rightly distanced themselves as a means of self-preservation.

Tom

[slapout9]

The Columbian government should have a "no comment" policy on everything about this operation. That is why it worked in the first place. Celebrate the release of the hostages, other than that be like Sgt. Shultz from Hoagans Heroes.... "I know nothing"

[Rex Brynen]

The Columbian government should have a "no comment" policy on everything about this operation. That is why it worked in the first place. Celebrate the release of the hostages, other than that be like Sgt. Shultz from Hoagans Heroes.... "I know nothing"

Actually, I think they did the right thing in apologizing (especially since evidence of misuse of the ICRC was already in the public domain). The ICRC has been quite heavily involved in Columbia, both in humanitarian assistance and in facilitating previous hostage releases--it really is not the kind of assistance that Columbia wants to compromise.

[slapout9]

Actually, I think they did the right thing in apologizing (especially since evidence of misuse of the ICRC was already in the public domain). The ICRC has been quite heavily involved in Columbia, both in humanitarian assistance and in facilitating previous hostage releases--it really is not the kind of assistance that Columbia wants to compromise.

I understand what you are saying Rex but I disagree. Evidence is not proof and I think the Columbian government had plenty of room for plausible deny- ability by simply stating they will not discuss in detail any capability to rescue hostages and then leave it at that.