World - Saturday, July 5, 2008 18:48 - 1 Comment

Checkmate: Colombian Style

For this entry I contacted a ‘reporter’ to write a piece for me on the rescue of FARC hostages in the Colombian jungle. In my opinion not many movies can trounce this story.

"Whenever there is major news here in Colombia, it is either a great event or, more often, a tragedy. I was sitting at my desk going through countless articles on one of many scandals here in Colombia that I was researching for the company where I am interning, when I heard various people in the office shout: “liberaron a Ingrid!” “Ingrid has been liberated!” Everyone in the office rushed to the nearest TV set to witness the unprecedented incident.

Colombia’s Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, was debriefing a group of journalists on the occurrences of the day. He related the intricate plot that was carried out by the army against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group that is classified by both North American governments and the European Union as a terrorist group.

During various attacks against military bases, illegal road blocks, and in outright combat over the years that date back to the 1990’s, thousands of soldiers, policemen, and civilians have ended up in the FARC’s concentration camps, deprived of their freedom.

For that reason, when Santos revealed that military personnel had rescued 15 of the most important kidnapped victims, the whole country came to a stand still. Continue…