Colombia, Canada and the fake guerrillas
Colombia, Canada and the fake guerrillas
In Colombia, the rebel demobilization was a government PR coup. But the rebel group never existed, and the man behind the scheme has fled to Canada.
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LUIS RAMIREZ / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
The Cacica Gaitana Front demobilization in 2006, was a PR coup for Colombian peace commissioner
Luis Carlos Restrepo, right. But the rebels were later revealed to be fakes.
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By: James Bargent Special to the Star, Published on Mon Feb 16 2015
MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA—In March 2006, 62 fighters from the Cacica Gaitana Front of Colombia’s FARC guerrillas handed in their weapons in the largest rebel demobilization in 50 years of war, and a major publicity coup for the government of then-President Alvaro Uribe. There was just one problem: the Cacica Gaitana Front never existed.
The “demobilization” was initially heralded as proof that the strongman president — who, during his two terms between 2002 and 2010, drove back Colombia’s Marxist insurgencies with a military offensive — could deliver peace as well as war. But what has emerged since is instead a bizarre tale of fake guerrillas, corruption and deceit that has led investigators to the door of Uribe’s high commissioner for peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo.
Nine years on from the events of 2006, and while the government of Uribe’s successor, President Juan Manuel Santos, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are currently edging toward a historic peace agreement, Restrepo has fled Colombia and reportedly been granted political asylum in Canada. Canadian officials wouldn’t confirm or deny this, but an unofficial source with knowledge of these matters confirmed to the Star that he did get asylum.
Doubts about the veracity of the Cacica Gaitana demobilization surfaced almost immediately due to the “guerrillas” clean new uniforms, and the old and broken weapons they turned over to the authorities. However, details about the scam did not emerge until 2011, when radio news channel La FM obtained witness testimonies from an investigation by the attorney general’s office.
According to the witnesses, most of those who took part in the ceremony were not fighters but specially recruited homeless and unemployed people. They claimed the recruits were taken to a month-long training camp, where ex-guerrillas schooled them in weapons handling, marching formations and how to talk, act and even sing like a FARC guerrilla. The fake guerrillas were paid approximately $250 and told they would have access to the benefits Colombia offers demobilizing fighters.
More:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/02/16/colombia-canada-and-the-fake-guerrillas.html
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Gawd!
