The Americas Post - A demonstrator's poster shows how many years each hostage has been held by FARC guerrillas. Photo Credit: AFP

FARC guerrillas on Wednesday postponed releasing six Colombian soldiers held for over a decade, claiming that the area where the prisoners were to be freed has been occupied by government troops.

“The area we had chosen for the release of prisoners of war captured in battle has been unfairly militarized by the Government of Colombia, which forces us to defer the operation,” the rebel group said in a statement released on the internet.

The FARC, weakened by a military offensive supported by the U.S. but still able to execute high-impact attacks, announced in December the release of six of the 11 Armed Forces personnel held for more ten years, but the delivery has not yet been finalized.  Late last year other hostages were killed by rebels during combat with the Army,  which had discovered FARC encampments in the jungle.

President Juan Manuel Santos questioned the position of the FARC, considered by U.S. and European Union as a terrorist organization and said the government did not know the hostages were in that area.

“By God, no more tricks and deceit.  We do not even know where the hostage are. They have not given coordinates. Release them now,” Santos said through his Twitter account.

However, the Armed Forces admitted operating throughout the country in fulfilling the mission of pursuing the illegal armed groups.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón, accused the rebel group of playing with the hostages and their families as part of a strategy to gain political prominence nationally and internationally and clean up its criminal image.

“These people once again demonstrates the lies they tell and how deeply and permanently they play with the Colombian people,” said the official.

The guerrilla organization have held up to 60 hostages at times, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans, who they sought to exchange for imprisoned guerrillas.

But many were rescued by the Armed Forces and others escaped or died in the jungle. Some have been released by the FARC in phases during recent years.

“As soon as the insanity that has gripped Nariño Palace (the Presidency) abates, we will make a new attempt for you to receive those who will be released,” added the FARC.

The Americas Post - Protesters send a clear message in Caracas against skyrocketing murder rates

According to the Venezuela Violence Observatory, over 19,336 people have been killed there so far in 2011, averaging 53 per day.

Those figures would make Venezuela’s murder rate the highest in South America, and four times worse than that of Mexico.  Violent crime is already considered a major issue in elections next year, when President Hugo Chavez is seeks another term in office.

“We must inform the nation that 2011 will end as the the most violent year in the nation’s history,” the Venezuela Violence Observatory (OVV) said in their news release.

The numbers – compiled from research by several Venezuelan universities – suggest a murder rate of 67 per 100,000 inhabitants during 2011.  That compares to 32 per 100,000 last year next door in Colombia and 14 per 100,000 in Mexico, two countries suffering from intense drug-related violence.

The Venezuelan government admits problems with violent crime, but claims the figures are lower.  Earlier this year, Interior Minister Tarek El Aissami told Congress the murder rate was 48 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The OVV said that violent crime has been going up in Venezuela since 1999, when President Chavez took office. That year just 4,550 murders were recorded.

Other crimes such as robbery and kidnapping have also been on the rise along with the murder rate.

In November, President Chavez announced the creation of a new armed force – the People’s Guard – to promote public security.  Thousands of soldiers were deployed on the streets of Caracas and other regions to support police where crime levels are high.

Several other Latin American countries have murder rates far higher than the global average of 6.9 per 100,000 people.

The highest rate during 2010 was in Honduras, which had 82 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

The Americas Post - Colombian soldiers held in a makeshift FARC prison camp

FARC guerrillas are “the only ones responsible” for the death of four hostages found shot this weekend after a firefight with government troops trying to free them, according to Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos.

“This is an atrocious crime which merits the condemnation of all Colombians as well as the international community”, he said during his normal weekly address.  ”The only ones responsible for this vile action, for this crime against humanity, are the FARC.”

“Imagine that they’re going to blame these acts on government forces”, Santos added.  ”All it takes is common sense to place the responsibility with those that kidnapped them years ago and today pulled the trigger.”

The victims were three police officers and one soldier, held by the FARC for at least 12 years.  They were found shot in the back of the head and in the back.

Santos expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and his commitment to the military campaign.

“I want to tell the FARC that the only thing this will accomplish is to inject public forces with more determination to combat them”, he insisted.

The Colombian Armed Rebel Forces, known by their Spanish acronym as the FARC, are the oldest guerrilla movement in Latin America, with 47 years in the field.  They currently number between 8,000 and 9,000 combatants and hold at least 14 police and military hostages who they propose to exchange for jailed guerrillas.

The Americas Post.- Alleged Pirates detained in Gulf of Aden by U.S. Marines of USS Anzio.(Combined Maritime Forces photo/Released)

Specially in Somalia´s waters, pirates are increasingly turning to kidnapping and hostage-taking to generate funding to purchase weapons and continue operations.

As a comment to a recent statement of the United Nations, the Assistant Secretary Andrew Shapiro at the State Department Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said that there has been a decline of piracy attacks during 2011because of security steps taken by commercial vessels traveling in high-risk areas.

While speaking during a Defense Conference earlier this month, Shapiro said the U.S. had recently helped Somalia establish a national policy encouraging countries to allow their commercial ships sailing in high-risk waters to carry armed security personnel on board.

“The reason for this is simple: to date no ship with an armed security team aboard has been successfully pirated,” he said. “We have recently demarched countries to permit the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on commercial vessels.”

Shapiro said the State Department is working with countries to make it easier for privately contracted security personnel to transit foreign ports with weapons intended for the self-defense of ships, like f.e. in the Suez Canal. READ MORE HERE

The Americas Post - Venezuelan shoplifters beware. Photo Credit: AFP

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent thousands of National Guard soldiers into the streets of Caracas and surrounding states on Thursday,  to reinforce  police overwhelmed by widespread violent crime.

“We’ve been fighting and reducing overall crime rates, but we’ve fallen short when it comes to the number of homicides,” Chavez said to troops at a downtown plaza.

More than 3,200 soldiers were ordered to the streets of Caracas and the surrounding states of Miranda and Vargas, according to Gen. Miguel Vivas Landino.

Venezuela suffers one of the highest murder rates in Latin America. The government has not reported official statistics for several years, but numbers released by human rights groups and academic researchers indicate it as one of the most dangerous countries the hemisphere.

According to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, a Caracas-based academic organization that tracks crime  trends, from 1998 through 2010 the annual homicide rate tripled from 19 to 57 for every 100,000 residents.  Other violent crimes such as kidnapping and armed robbery have also increased in recent years in Venezuela.  Reports of kidnappings increased from 52 in 1998 to 618 in 2009.

As kidnapping has increased, the government in 2009 stiffened prison sentences for kidnapping and allowed authorities to freeze bank accounts of victims’ families to block them from paying ransoms.  Last week, Major League baseball player Wilson Ramos was taken at gunpoint from his home in the city of Valencia. The Washington Nationals catcher was rescued by police from a remote mountain hideout two days later.

Rising crime and other problems have hurt Chavez’s standing in the polls, although he remains Venezuela’s most popular politician heading into next year’s presidential election.

During Thursday’s speech, Chavez warned soldiers that his opponents are preparing to cause chaos and upheaval ahead of the election.  He claimed his enemies know they cannot win at the polls, so they are planning disruption and accusations of voter fraud to smear his election triumph.

Chavez has made similar charges in the past without any proof, and offered no evidence this time either.  Opposition leaders have stated repeatedly that they plan to unseat him via the ballot box, without resorting to violence or unconstitutional methods.

The Americas Post - It wasn't microphones pointing at Alfonso Cano this week.

In another setback for Latin America’s oldest guerrilla army, FARC rebel leader Guillermo Leon Saenz was killed in Colombia on Friday.

According to Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, Saenz, who was better known by his battle moniker Alfonso Cano, was tracked down in the southern department of Cauca.  He had already been on the run for months with a $5 million bounty on his head.

“This is the biggest blow the organization has seen in its history,” President Juan Manuel Santos announced in Cartagena.  He also called on the remaining members of FARC  to give up the fight. “If you don’t…you will end up in jail or in a grave”, he said.

Pinzón said the military attacked Cano’s rural camp from the air at about 8:30 am. Friday before landing troops in the area.  Once on the ground, soldiers found Cano’s trail glasses and wallet before surrounding him and a group of his closest followers.  In the course of the battle his security chief was taken prisoner and Cano’s “sentimental partner” was killed, Pinzón said.

Authorities showed a picture of Cano’s body, uncharacteristically clean-shaven, recovered with seven computers, some 30 memory sticks and more than $107,000 in cash.

This was latest in a series of setbacks for the FARC.  Their second-in-command, Raul Reyes, was killed in 2008 in a cross-border raid on his base in Ecuador, while their top commander, Jorge Briceño, died in combat in September 2010.

Cano’s death comes amid fears that the FARC was making a comeback.

Rebel attacks have been rising for the last three years, after they dispersed into smaller, more mobile groups, analysts said.

According to Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris, a think-tank that studies Colombia’s civil conflict, there were 1,115 FARC attacks in the first half of 2011 – up 10 percent over last year.

President Juan Manuel Santos replaced the entire military high command earlier and named Pinzon minister of defense in August.  Last month, however, the FARC killed 20 soldiers in two days before municipal elections.

Analysts warned that Cano’s death could provoke a fresh round of violence as the group attempts to prove it’s a force to be reckoned with. Founded in 1964 with a Marxist ideology, the FARC now depends on drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion for financing.  According to some estimates, the group is down to under 9,000 members, from approximately 17,000 in 2002.

Pinzón said that Cano had been a guerrilla for over 33 years and that his death proves that no rebel is safe from the Colombian army.

“Today, the armed forces and the national police have destroyed a myth,” he said.

You might not see the falcon, but he can see you

Mexico’s General Prosecutor’s Office for Morelos is warning against criminal groups specializing in robbery and “express kidnapping”, operating both inside and outside of Cuernavaca nightclubs.

Ministerial Police coordinator Jose Robles Quintana said that bands are most active on weekends on Playa de Ayala and Teopanzolco Avenues, targeting youngsters, tourists and people with luxury vehicles.

“Early in the morning when they leave to go home, they are waiting for them.  They steal their trucks for a while, they call the family, they empty their wallets and credit cards.”

Express kidnapping is a Mexican specialty in which victims are not held for ransom, but rather taken to ATM’s and forced to withdraw money and cash advances as quickly as possible.  In this case however, Quintana said that ransoms are also sometimes being collected.

“The family pays 20 or 30 thousand pesos (US$1,500 to $2,200) and they are released.  The only other thing they take is the pickup, which practically makes it an express kidnapping”, Quintana stated.  ”Usually they’re kidnapping people who drive Nissan X-Trails or other luxury pickups.”

Quintana said that the groups operate with “falcons” (spotters) inside who select and point out their targets, who are then followed home or stopped and robbed on the way.  He said there are no reliable figures on frequency, because some cases are not reported or simply reported as a stolen vehicle.  At times however, there have been six to eight cases reported in a single week.

The official urged nightclub visitors to exercise caution and avoid drinking to excess, which is a risk factor.

The Moreira Brothers (leaders of PRI) and Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón

Besides being an advisor of the Organization of American States (OAS), and directly involved in the peace process in Colombia, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón has been very active in other matters related to Latin American politics.

Recently in Mexico, Judge Garzón was invited to an international Conference on Money Laundering. During the event, the famous Spanish judge said “the fight against money laundering should be rigorous and global, otherwise it will fail”.
Global War on Money Laundering .- During the closing ceremony of the Forum “Democratic legality, Ethics, Human Rights and Security”  held at the Mexican Congress ,  Judge Garzón also said that “money laundering is an international phenomenon so it must be combatted on a multilateral basis as it would otherwise be a failure.”
Legislators, officials and Mexican specialists agreed with Garzon on the importance of globally combatting organized crime and money laundering, and also agreed on fighting it both locally and internationally.

Garzon recommended Mexico modernize their traditional organized crime research and invest in new technology to combat money laundering.

“A money laundering law must be rigorous and it is urgent to establish launderer´s behaviors and mechanisms, such as those imposed in other countries,” he said.

Against decriminalization of drug trafficking.- In a press conference after the event,  Judge Garzon spoke against drug decriminalization.  He said that in Mexico decriminalization is not  going to end organized crime, because besides drugs, cartels and criminal gangs are also engaged in kidnapping, extortion, trafficking and vehicle theft.

First, Garzón said, is necessary to create “a joint policy of prevention to reduce the risk of consumption.”

Judge Garzón also advisor of the opposition Mexican Political Party PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) .-

Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon is active in Mexico.

Humberto Moreira, national president of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) held the first of several meetings that will take place with judge Baltasar Garzon as advisor of the PRI, in order to polish the PRI’s political platform on the issue of human rights, public safety and combatting organized crime.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PRI, as well as the former governor of Hidalgo, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, secretary of political operations of the PRI, are having this round of consultations with Judge Garzón as well as other international experts to ensure a viable anti-crime proposal.

During the meeting, Garzón declared himself in favor of strengthening institutional frameworks against drug trafficking before talking about new laws. Garzón has a more practical and hands on point of view.
Moreira Valdes (PRI) said in an interview that the party’s central concern is how to ensure respect for human rights in the fight against organized crime.

He also revealed that this is the third meeting he has with Baltasar Garzon, in an attempt to define the direction of the security strategy that the country should take.

Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon also called for strict control of rating agencies Moody´s. Standard  Poor´s and Fitch.-

Last Tuesday, Judge Garzón  called on all countries to establish control and oversight over the rating agencies to avoid possible “organized criminal activity” affecting the investment markets and countries.
“There is no control on them on such activities that have become landmarks,” said the judge at the close of the forum “democratic legality, ethics, human rights and security” that took place in chamber of Deputies in Mexico City.
International agencies such as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, are allegedly responsible for aggravating the global financial crisis by lending support to controversial downgrades against many countries.
“I’m disturbed by the justice system´s inaction from the various judicial actors” on the role and control of the rating agencies in today’s volatile markets that “are about to bring many countries to ruin,” he said.
Garzon said he was not sure that these agencies perform criminal acts but said the rating agencies “should have a strict regulation” to be sure that “there is no organized criminal activity around the constant speculation on markets and investments.”
Addressing more than a hundred legislators, academics, officials and experts from Mexico and other countries, Garzon said that economic and financial crime is “produced by large corporations through mechanisms of corruption” and market operations.
The judge said that the actions of the rating agencies “can lead countries to ruin or a rising cost of public debt or external debt, to unsuspected limits.”

Joaquín -Chapo- (Shorty) Guzmán, druglord of Sinaloa Cartel

Mexico’s network of drug cartels is nebulous and complex, with organizations merging, splintering and shifting alliances in their quest to control drug-trafficking routes. Below is a rough overview of some of the major groups involved in the country’s drug trade, although there are numerous other affiliate groups and smaller players. READ MORE HERE

Operation Genesis II started last July 26 and has raised many people including 345 foreigners and 462 minors. 1620 people were inspected and checked luggage about 561 vehicles, police said.

To combat these illicits, the police put 120 cross-border barriers that were built by 600 policemen. Participate in the second edition of Operation Genesis 37 institutions in Brazil like the Military Police, Civil Police, Technical Police, Firemen, IBAMA and independent, IRS, State Environmental Secretariat (SEMA), Ministry of Labour, Gaec, National Force, Abin , Federal Highway Police, and other security partners.

Kidnapping

Brazil, Fighting crime in Vila Bela da Santissima Trindade on the border with Bolivia.

The action also had the outcome of the liberation of a kidnapped person in the municipality of Vila Bela da Santissima Trinidade (521 km west of Cuiabá). Six people involved in the kidnapping, which happened last July 25, were arrested in the act, one of them was a local politician. They are: Deputy Mayor of Vila Bela, Janine Elizabeth F. Veloso Silva, Valdir José da Silva, Edir Cambara  da Silva, Rivaldo Surubi Rosalia, Virgil Pedraça Surubi, Jose Martin Surubi.