by the El Reportero’s news services
On Feb. 1, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) released four hostages to opposition senator Piedad Córdoba and a commission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Later the same day, a car bomb in the south-western city of Cali killed two people and injured at least 17. President Alvaro Uribe’s response to the blast was uncompromising: he has prohibited Córdoba, the FARC’s main point of contact, from participating in the release of the group’s last two civilian hostages, planned for today (Feb. 2) and Wednesday (Feb. 4).
Uribe is determined to prevent the battered group from using hostage releases to regain political leverage, and is sending a clear message that his government will not bend to pressure from renewed terrorist attacks.
His decision may, however, prove unpopular: it is not yet clear as to whether the FARC will cooperate without Córdoba, thus the release process has been thrown temporarily into limbo.
Ailing Castro throws first punch at Obama
HAVANA – Fidel Castro on Thursday threw his first punch at President Barack Obama after several weeks of praise for the new leader, demanding the U.S. return Guantanamo Bay military base to Cuba and criticizing the U.S. defense of Israel. Castro’s latest essay, published on an official Web site, came one week after he called Obama “intelligent and noble” and said he would cut back on his writings to prevent interfering with Cuban government decisions.
The missive Thursday raised new questions about what role he maintains in policy making, especially coming while his brother, President Raul Castro, was in Moscow on an official visit.
The ailing 82-year-old 1former president wrote that if the U.S. doesn’t give the U.S. base at Guantanamo back to Cuba, it will be a violation of international law and an abuse of American power against a small country.
The U.S. president must “respect this norm without any condition,” Castro wrote.
The U.S., which acquired Guantanamo more than 100 years ago, considers it strategically important to maintain. The treaty granting its use remains in effect unless both Cuba and the U.S. abrogate it or the U.S. abandons the base.
In his Thursday essay, Castro also criticized Obama for backing Israel’s defense against attacks by Palestinian militants. He said it demonstrated “the abusive character of the empire’s power” and insisted it would contribute to “the genocide against the Palestinians.”
(Latin Briefs and Associated Press contributed to this report).
