Ecuador-Colombia Front Flares Up

The Other Castro-Chavez Club Front: Colombia

President Correa of Ecuador and partisans. credit: elmercurio.com

The Castro-Chavez Club is not only planting weeds in Central America. Colombia, the linchpin democratic state between Venezuela and Ecuador, remains a key objective.

Colombia's rightist Presidente Uribe has carved more than a pound of flesh from the hide of the country's leftist FARC narco-guerrillas engaged in the longest-running rebel resistance in the region's history.

• Jefe #2, Raul Reyes, was killed in a daring dash into neighboring Ecuador, capture of laptops (March 2008)
• Senior Commandante Ivan Rios killed by his own troops a week later
• Brash trickery in rescue of cause célèbre Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans (July 2008)

The incursion in Ecuador continues to pay dividends. As noted above, the Reyes laptops, a treasure trove given his position as the communications chief in the inner circle, produced hard evidence of the Venezuelan-Ecuadoran direct support of the FARC narco-guerrillas. The heated reaction by Presidente Chavez of Venezuela and Presidente Correa of Ecuador at the time spoke volumes. They knew what was on the laptops.

The latest crisis flared up when the Associated Press' broadcast a video tape showing Commadante el 'Mono Jojoy' stating the FARC directly gave dirty drug dollars to support Correa's presidential campaign.

The foreign policy challenge to Correa comes at a time of increasing domestic strife. His brother is snared in funny financing farce involving a $80 million in state funds while the president continues to squeeze the dwindling free press - just like his mentor, Chavez of Venezuela.

So far, Ecuador is retaliating by restricting goods entering the country from Colombia, its chief commercial partner.
While the war is far from over (freedom requires eternal vigilance), the Castro-Chavez Club is experiencing mounting difficulties in snuffing out freedom in the Americas in territories outside their own turf.

Mel Zelaya is still ranting from outside of Honduras and Venezuelan drug planes are not landing anymore. The FARC are reeling and their state support for terrorizing Colombia from neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela is laid bare for all to see.

It is a good time for US President Obama and the international community to re-analyze their rush to re-instate Castro-Chavez comedian Zelaya in Honduras and support freedom and fighters for democracy in a region increasingly short of both.


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