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Showing posts with the label FARC.

Who was 'Mono Jojoy'?

Mono jojoy, aka Jorge Briceño, whose real name was Victor Julio Suarez, the FARC's military chief pulled down by the Colombia Armed Forces, was the second top leader of the left-winged guerrilla but the one who led its military operations. He was nicknamed Mono Jojoy after a species of worm from the Amazon, called mojojoy, which is very skilled at scaping. In Spanish mono means 'monkey', in Spain 'pretty' and in Colombia 'blond'. Mono Jojoy joined FARC in 1975 and soon he beceme a cuadrilla (a sort of brigade) leader because of his ideals, radical stances and methods which got him several arrest warrants for rebellion, kidnapping, narcotraffick, extortion, terrorism and murder among others. He was implicated in the bombing of Club El Nogal in Bogota in 2003 that killed 36 people and injures more than 100, he was accused for participating in the kidnapping of Ingrid Betancour and the assessination of the journalist Diana Turbay, he was charged for recruting c...

The kidnapped general.

General Mendieta is a Colombia National Police commissioned officer who was recently rescued from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC after eleven years of kidnapping. He was took prisoner in 1998 in the city of Mitu, in the Colombian Amazon, when he was practicing as the commander of city police bureau, in the rank of litenuant colonel. During his captivity he was promoted by the Colombian Government to the the ranks of colonel, Brigade General and Major General. Mendieta was rescued with three more Armed Forces of Colombia members by Colombia Army through 'The Chameleon Operation'. Until that day General Mendieta was the police and military force kidnapped the with the highest rank in the world. Two facts involves me with this. The first one is that I produced a journalism report on it as a prelude of General Mendieta's rescue. It was by the way of his last promotion which was particular due to the general's obvious absence. Then, I attended the ceremony ...