Hostage Rescue or P.R. Stunt?

Tweet

After a discussion of Betancourt, et al.'s "rescue" itself, Todd Chretien goes on to explore the reactions of leftist leaders formerly hostile to Colombia's U.S.-backed president Uribe. Portion below; whole thing here: http://socialistworker.org/2008/07/08/hostage-rescue-or-pr-stunt

HOWEVER, IF Uribe does have some questions to answer now, Betancourt's release is proving to be a disaster for the FARC.

No matter what the details are, the rebel group, at war with the repressive Colombian government for decades, has been shown to be in disarray. It is coming under intense pressure, from friend and foe, to release the rest of its hostages and enter peace talks.

Correa criticized the FARC and called for the release of all remaining prisoners, saying, "If Che Guevara were alive, he would die of shame [to see] innocent people kidnapped, supposedly to reach [the FARC's] aims, however noble they may be."

Even Cuba's Fidel Castro is joining in. While he advised the FARC not to unilaterally hand in their guns, he called on the group to hand over all their prisoners to the International Red Cross "without conditions."

Bolivian President Evo Morales added his voice, praising, according to Reuters, the "actions and agreements taking place between the government and the FARC...We are not in the times of armed struggle, still less in struggles labeled as terrorist, but in the democratic struggle that can liberate the Latin American people."

Perhaps the most unexpected development of all has been Hugo Chávez's attitude. Although he has often been accused by the American and Colombian governments of aiding the FARC, Chávez--after telling the FARC that the "epoch of the rifle has passed"--took Betancourt's release as an opportunity to reach out to Uribe as "a brother."

"We said very hard things," Chávez said on July 4, referring to past diplomatic confrontations. "That's what happens between brothers sometimes. [But] it has passed, and, I hope, it has passed forever."

What explains Chávez's kind words for Uribe, who he has, in the past, rightly linked to the death squads and military responsible for the majority

of the violence in Colombia? It may have something to do with the fact that later this week, Uribe will be coming to Venezuela to discuss a new proposal to build a railway line linking the two nations, one of the biggest joint economic ventures to date.

Until now, Chávez has always spoken forthrightly about the threat that the U.S. policy of arming the Colombian military to the teeth poses for South America. However, according to El Universal, on July 5, Venezuela's Independence Day, Chávez stated that he had discussed resuming anti-narcotics cooperation with the U.S. with American Ambassador Patrick Duddy. Chávez also alluded to the November presidential elections, "Whoever wins the White House, I hope we can sit and talk. I did it with President Clinton."

It remains to be seen if Chávez's openings to Uribe and the U.S. constitute diplomatic niceties--or if Betancourt's release, beyond exposing the weaknesses of the FARC and the arrogance of Uribe, also signals a new turn in the Venezuelan revolution.