Source: Indypendent.org
he political aftershocks of Colombia’s March 1st attack on a FARC camp in Ecuador continue to reverberate.
On the Thursday November 6th, Ecuador filed a formal note of protest after Colombian paramilitaries allegedly crossed the border and attacked the village of Borbón, killing 1 and injuring two. While Colombia grabbed headlines worldwide for its charges of FARC ties against the Ecuadorian and Venezuelan governments, Ecuador has insisted that Colombia bears the primary responsibility for ensuring that their war does not spill over into neighboring countries. Ecuador has argued that they have far more troops on their northern border than the Colombian’s have on their southern one.
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In other news, Ecuadorian human rights groups working with a government commission have established major CIA infiltration of the Ecuadorian military and police. The report documents a number of ties between the Ecuadorian armed forces, police and the U.S. Embassy. The report also points to a March 1st phone call from the Embassy to the then head of the Police Special Investigations Unit (UIES), warning of a major military operation on the border and saying that Uribe would be calling Correa in the morning-indicating that the U.S. had prior knowledge of the attack. President Rafael Correa has long alleged U.S. government involvement in the March 1st attack.
I have just began to read this report and will write a more detailed article soon-unless someone beats me to it, which would be great, because I will be busy dealing with upcoming anti-mining mobilizations.
Ecuador also issued a complaint to Colombia over the kidnapping of Ecuadorian citizen Kléver Larriva, a businessmen who was kidnapped 6 months ago and was only released after the payment of a $350,000 ransom. Ecuador claims that Colombia could have done more to secure his release.