Semana newsmagazine has published photographs found in the computers of diseased FARC leader Alfonso Cano.
Look at the photos here.
The first generation of FARC warriors in the early 1970s made do with old rifles, and no fatigues. Their camps seemed rudimentary, with bridges made of planks and ropes, and simple tarps for shelter. Today’s FARC camps have paved driveways, generators, dormitory-like accommodations, satellite TVs, grenade factories …
Among the group back then, there seemed some affection for one another, some camaraderie in the group — not much of that these days, evidenced by a security chief who chops his commander’s hand as proof to collect a reward.
Back then, mules carried their supplies, and the beasts were led along precipices. Climbing over rocks, swimming across rivers, fighting their way through the mud. Such geographical isolation — much of what unfortunately remains today. But today, there is a vast network of FARC suppliers. There are stories of arms dropping from the sky.
The photos show recruits playing volleyball. And the founders posing, even flirting with the camera. A sense of their self-importance, getting it just right, the way they wished to be remembered in history. As if they knew, one day, we’d be studying the photos for what the images can divulge to us. At that moment, did they know that they would one day be in the history books? (Whether we like it or not.)
The most striking here is the youth of the leaders, the same men time has meted out bawled heads, pot bellies, grey beards, tense foreheads, raging fire-spitting eyes, and bloody deaths.
Related:
Talking About Colombia 
Leave a Reply