Rebel at centre of Venezuela-Colombia dispute speaks of US involvement

[bemildred]

I sort of wonder how he got this statement out ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - An imprisoned guerrilla whose capture in Venezuela ignited a bitter dispute between Colombia and Venezuela said yesterday he freely journeyed abroad with legal travel documents as an envoy of Colombia's main rebel group, but denied allegations he was involved in drug trafficking or gun running.

In a four-page statement faxed to The Associated Press, Rodrigo Granda said he was kidnapped December 13 in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, by Colombian police assisted by "corrupt Venezuelan colleagues." US agents assisted in the operation, Granda said, which the US State Department in Washington has denied.

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Granda said he spent 14 hours handcuffed and in a fetal position in the trunks of cars during the ride from Caracas to the border. He said members of Colombia's Judicial Police, known as the DIJIN, participated in his capture.

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Granda said he has travelled to many countries with legal travel documents and asserted that an ID card from Venezuela showing he has Venezuelan citizenship is authentic. Granda lived for several years in Venezuela before his capture. The director of Venezuela's immigration office, Hugo Cabezas, said this week that Granda's citizenship would be nullified, alleging Granda used false documents to get the ID card.

Jamaica Observer

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

1. There's a shocker

[bemildred]

2. Well, I am stunned, I can tell you.

US involvement? Who knew?

I notice in the news today that the "dispute" doesn't seen to
be "resolved" any more.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

3. This world is going to the crapper in a big way

And the US is pulling the handle

[Judi Lynn]

4. I hope Hugo Chavez has learned US agents were also engaged

in grabbing this guy, before he speaks with _Bush's right-wing, long term paramilitary-allied, puppet Álvaro Uribe. It would be useful.

Also, this article should clear up questions about how Granda got around in Venezuela so well, as it clearly states he used a bogus I.D. to get a Venezuelan I.D. card. It would have been preposterous to charge Hugo Chavez was harboring him, since they wouldn't have even known he was there.

[hector459]

7. Judy, I luv ya'!! You are right on!!

Kicking and sending to the media e-mail list. Join me.

[bemildred]

5. This is funny too:

First there is the imperial spin:

A meeting this week between Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is key to ensuring that Colombian leftist rebels are denied sanctuary in the neighbouring country, Uribe’s spokesman says.

A dispute between the two countries over Colombian insurgents threatens to destabilise the region.

Then the little kicker at the end:

Uribe personally contacted Cuban President Fidel Castro, asking him to help Colombia and Venezuela resolve their problems.

“President Uribe spoke with Fidel,” Galan said, adding that Colombia also has sought the help of Mexican President Vicente Fox, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Peru, which chairs the Andean Community. Both Colombia and Venezuela are members of the Andean bloc.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4073999

[sarcasmo]

6. Anyone who doesn't drink the Kool Aid would believe this.

[Supersedeas]

8. and the MSM is following celebrity trials and whistling Dixie