Talking About Colombia

What ideology! Show the money! It seems greedy minor thugs will give away major thugs for money. It’s like the dollar signs shine in their pupils, like in the cartoons, bl$nk! Bl$nk!

William Forero Galvis, alias “Parrilla,” a former FARC, gave the Colombian  military the exact location of four hostages. The info gave birth to “Operation Chameleon,” in which 300 members of the Colombian army rescued Gen. Luis Mendieta, Col. Enrique Murillo, Lt. Col. William Donato Gómez, and Army Sgt. Arbey Delgado. The men were abducted in 1998 and had been held for over twelve years.

Parrilla was captured during an air force attack on a FARC camp in the southern department of Guaviare.

It has not been confirmed if Parrilla, together with an undisclosed number of combatants, will share the US$1.2 million reward offered by the Colombian government for information on the whereabouts of the kidnapped officers.

Another case: The former FARC, Pedro Montoya, alias “Rojas,” shot his commander, Ivan Rios, in the forehead. Then, he chopped off the dead man’s hand to use as evidence when he turned himself into the military.

Rios, the leader of the FARC’s central region, was a big fish: the U.S. State Department had a bounty of $5 million for his capture. When the finger prints confirmed it was, indeed, the sought-after commander, Rojas demanded the money. It’s not clear if he has seen any of it.

Should former FARC receive such rewards? Could these rewards lead to more rebels surrendering to the army? Could these rewards motivate inner tensions and instability amongst the FARC? Certainly, these two cases highlight that life in the FARC is not about ideology and that FARC members are disenchanted.