www.suntimes.com January 31, 2003 BY ANA MENDIETA STAFF REPORTER

When Johnner Londono flew to Colombia on Thanksgiving Day, he still hoped to work out the release of his father, kidnapped by Marxist guerrillas five months earlier on Father's Day.

But the 22-year-old analyst for CNA Financial Corp. said Thursday he barely got back to Chicago with his own life.

Londono was ready to pay $15,000 cash of the $50,000 demanded as ransom by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC. That was all the money he was able to collect through his own savings and a second mortgage on a family home in Colombia.

He not only lost that money, but is giving up hope of seeing his father, Jose Londono, alive again.

On Dec. 12 Londono met with hitmen hired by his father's abductors in Guacari, a town about 30 miles outside his family's home in Palmira. He says he was punched in the stomach several times, and they poured about a gallon of gasoline on him and threatened to set him on fire if he didn't pay the ransom.

"He asked me if I wanted to go to hell,'' Londono says of one of his attackers. "'If you don't give me that money, I'm going to set you on fire and leave you right here,' the man said. So I told him: 'Then finish me up because I don't have the money,' '' Londono recounted.

The FARC hitman then spat on Londono and said he would only see his father again if he paid the ransom. The abductors knew the family only had $15,000 available, Londono said.

Londono went back to his family's home in Palmira, located in southwestern Colombia about several hours southwest of the capital Bogota, to wait. A memo sent by FARC to Londono's family in Colombia on Jan. 9 warned they would be in danger if they didn't pay.

So when Londono met again with the hit squad Jan. 20, he took his only money with him. But the hitmen grabbed the money and said his father wouldn't be released until they received $35,000 more to make up the full ransom.

"They lied to me,'' he said. "They asked me to give the money in exchange for information on my father, and they didn't tell me anything else. They just said my father was OK and ordered me to shut up when I asked more questions."

Londono said he cried and pled for his father's release, to no avail.

"They don't like begging, the more you beg the more agitated they get,'' Londono said.

More than 3,000 people are kidnapped every year in Colombia, a country with one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world. Colombia's civil war pits the 18,000-member FARC and the National Liberation Army or ELN against the government and the paramilitary groups. About 3,500 people, mainly civilians, die in the fighting each year.

Londono returned to Chicago on Jan. 21 and is now prepared for the worst. His only regret is that he last saw his father seven years ago. Jose Londono was living in Venezuela before he was abducted June 16 with 20 others at a roadblock about eight hours northwest of Bogota. Londono's parents were divorced 14 years ago.

"I'll have to wait for whatever the kidnappers decide to do. They will either release my father's body, or I'll never see him again."

news.ft.com By James Wilson in Bogotá Published: January 29 2003 22:01 | Last Updated: January 29 2003 22:01

This month's arrival in Colombia of US special forces on a training mission has taken Washington's involvement in Latin America's most enduring guerrilla conflict to a new level.

Around 70 of the elite troops are cloistered in military bases in Arauca, one of Colombia's most violent areas, to train the soldiers of a local army brigade. The aim is to create a rapid reaction force that can prevent rebel attacks on a pipeline for crude oil.

The trainers' arrival is also part of a raising of the stakes by all sides in Colombia's long conflict. Arauca is at the centre of a struggle to test whether gains can be made through stepped-up military action. Two rebel groups, the US and President Alvaro Uribe's government are all playing a role.

Significantly, for the first time the US is preparing Colombian troops to fight rebels it classes as terrorists, rather than for missions in support of drug eradication, which for many years was the declared aim of US financial support to Colombia.

By committing more troops and introducing special legal curbs, Mr Uribe is trying to tame Arauca and prove that his government is developing the capacity to battle the rebels successfully. The rebels are just as keen to show that he will fail, unleashing an unprecedented barrage of bombings in Arauca, such as one last weekend that killed six Colombian soldiers.

Last week's kidnapping of two foreign journalists by rebels also highlighted rising tension there. "It must be taken into account that Arauca is a declared war zone," said the National Liberation Army (ELN) as it admitted holding Ruth Morris, an FT contributor, and Scott Dalton.

The Cuban-inspired guerrilla group has made oil-rich Arauca one of its bastions, feeding parasitically off royalties accruing to the province from an oilfield operated by California-based Occidental Petroleum. But the ELN and the stronger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), which Washington labels as terrorist groups, have also led bombing campaigns against Occidental's pipeline.

Some 170 attacks shut down the oilfield for weeks at a time in 2001, although government forces claimed to have cut the number of attacks to 40 last year.

US military training aims to help Colombia curb those attacks, protecting revenues for Mr Uribe's government and for Occidental. Colombia is one of the US's 10 biggest sources of imported crude and maintaining supplies has taken on fresh importance because of Venezuela's oil strike and uncertainty over Gulf supplies in the event of war. A US official said this month the US trainers would coach Colombian troops not only to react to attacks but also to "sniff out" rebels.

Until last year Washington had shied away from giving aid that would be directly targeted at the rebels. Under Plan Colombia, a $1.3bn aid programme begun in 2000, equipment and training was provided only to help wipe out thousands of hectares of illicit drug crops. The US later argued that drug eradication would remain difficult unless rebels and rival paramilitaries were also curbed.

A shift of approach was made easier after September 11. With President George W. Bush's declaration of global war on terrorism, Colombia's guerrilla and paramilitary groups became legitimate targets, and Plan Colombia resources may now be used against the insurgents.

The special forces in Arauca are being kept out of combat; the US remains adamant that it will not commit fighting forces to Colombia. Congress has also capped the number of trainers that can be deployed.

Continuance of the US-led training also depends on belated approval of this year's US budget. As well as about $640m in continued regional anti-drugs aid, it would also include some $88m for pipeline protection in Arauca, including extra helicopters. Critics of Washington's policy in Colombia argue that not enough attention is being paid to this new phase of US involvement.

"The Bush administration is doing two contradictory things at the same time," says the Center for International Policy, a Washington research centre. "Decision-makers are expanding the US security commitment to Colombia, even while they lower the country's rank on their list of foreign policy priorities."

www.prnewswire.com Financial Services News

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Colombian and Venezuelan mines could produce 65.1 million tonnes of coal by 2006, according to Export Coal Supplies in Colombia and Venezuela, the 2002 edition of a series of multi-client studies by Hill & Associates, Inc, on the Colombian and Venezuela export coal industry.

The conclusion is dependent upon numerous conditions and assumptions made and which are explained in the study.

"We believe by 2006 Colombia will have the capability to produce 53.9 million tonnes of coal with Venezuela producing the 11.9 million tonnes balance," Jaime Correal, the author of the study, said.

The study includes a discussion of likely new developments in mines, transportation and port infrastructure in Colombia and Venezuela.

"Transportation and port infrastructure are key to the growth of the coal industry in both countries," Correal said, "especially in Venezuela where a railroad and port project are an absolute necessity before any significant export expansion can take place in the Guasare Basin."

Export Coal Supplies in Colombia and Venezuela provides a complete analysis of geology, reserves, mine ownership, quality and production.  It takes a serious look at production capacity in Colombia and Venezuela and offers a complete picture of main export mines.

"The coal industry in Colombia and Venezuela will definitely influence the global export market in the future," Correal said.  "In Export Coal Supplies in Colombia and Venezuela we offer a comprehensive, intense look at the market possibilities."

An analysis of current FOBT cash costs for each producer, and the manner  in which Colombian and Venezuelan prices might react in the international markets in the future are other important aspects of the study.

Export Coal Supplies in Colombia and Venezuela includes detailed information on the following topics:

-- Overview of Colombia and its coal industry: This section includes an in-depth description of the Colombian geography, its economy, the latest developments in governmental institutions, and a realistic perspective of the country's public order situation. The section also includes a summary of country coal reserves and locations, and a summary of the coal production and export history of major producers. Coal production and export projections for the next five years are included, based on current capacity factors and the expansion and investment plans of the producing companies.

-- Colombia's transport and port infrastructure: This chapter describes the transport and port infrastructure used by coal suppliers to export coal. It includes a review of the existing railroad capacity and the available rolling stock in each of the operating railroads as well as the projected spur lines to join coal production areas to main lines and ports. The section also includes the main roads and distances used for transporting the mineral to ports from the main coal supply areas. A review of the main exporting coal terminals includes aspects such as annual export capacity, storage capacity, maximum allowed draft, and maximum and minimum vessels sizes. The projected two new terminals in the Atlantic coast are also discussed.

-- The study dedicates a section for each main Colombian coal supplier making a description of the location in relation to port and to main Colombian cities. It includes a description of the coalfields, reviews of the coal reserves in the concession areas, characteristics of the shareholders, production capacities, coal qualities, and history of coal exports. In addition, it looks inside the mine operation, transportation systems to ports and the required support and administration for each of the following mines:

       * Cerrejon Coal Company
       * Cerrejon Central Caypa mine - Colombianos del Cerrejon
       * La Jagua - Carbones del Caribe
       * La Jagua - Carboandes
       * Drummond - La Loma Project
       * El Paso mine - La Loma
       * Calenturitas - Prodeco
       * El Hatillo - Emcarbon

-- Venezuela overview: As in the Colombian section, the study reviews the Venezuela coal industry including a summary of country coal reserves and location, and a summary of the coal production, coal qualities and export history.

-- Venezuelan transport and port infrastructure Most Venezuelan coal exports are shipped from three main terminals located in the west shore of Maracaibo Lake, which are described in this chapter.

-- The study also describes the coalfields, coal reserves in the concession areas, characteristics of the shareholders, production capacities, coal qualities, and history of coal exports. It also reviews the mine operations, transportation systems to ports and the required support and administration for the main exporting mines in Venezuela, such as:

       * Paso Diablo mine and Socuy Project - Carbones del Guasare
       * Mina Norte
       * Cosila's project - Las Carmelitas

-- Colombia and Venezuela estimated costs and market outlook: This chapter presents the estimated FOBT cash cost for each of the exporting coalmines in Colombia and Venezuela. The cost analysis includes all costs, such as waste removal, coal mining and handling, pit services, restoration, and environmental control, mine services, transportation to port, port operations, administration, and royalties and taxes. The study also discusses how this low cost production affects the market. The section also includes thermal coal price projections for 2002-2011.

Export Coal Supplies in Colombia and Venezuela is now available.  The price is $6,500.

For additional information, contact Jeff Watkins or Daniel Walton at 410-263-6616 ext. 110 /111, respectively, or Jaime Correal in Bogota at 57-1-623-7647 or at j.correal@hillandassoc.com .

www.reformer.com88621143873,00.html Article Last Updated: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 - 7:58:49 AM MST

By MICHAEL NEARY Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO -- Colombian union leader Hector Giraldo described a Colombia he said was invisible to the American media Tuesday night. He depicted a paramilitary that executes union workers at will -- even after they have already resigned. Giraldo, a member of Central Unitaria Trabajadores (CUT), spoke at the School for International Training.

Speaking through an interpreter, Giraldo said he began his union work in 1980, at a time when "there were still some protections for your right to unionize and organize." He said the situation degenerated in subsequent years, reaching a crisis stage in 1995 when current president Alvaro Uribe, as governor of Antioquia, cracked down on the labor movement.

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Giraldo said Uribe's "policy was to exterminate the unions and do away with collective bargaining." He said union members were ordered to resign and executed if they did not quit by an appointed time. One man, he said, was killed even after he stepped down because his letter of resignation was unacceptable to the paramilitary.

Contending that U.S. tax dollars funded such executions, Giraldo posited a connection between the military -- a recipient of U.S. money targeted to the "War on Drugs" -- and the paramilitary. He condemned "Plan Columbia," a program begun under the Clinton administration and continued under Bush that funds Colombian military exploits.

"If (U.S.) tax dollars go to Colombia," he said, "they should go for health care ... not helicopters and rifles."

Giraldo also described a U.S.-backed policy of fumigation, in which the Colombian government attempted to destroy 350,000 hectares (864,500 acres) of cocoa leaves -- integral to the manufacture of cocaine -- and ended up, he said, contaminating corn, bananas, water and other natural resources. He said that the exercise, conducted from the air, also seeped into school rooms and produced diarrhea, nausea, headaches and skin rashes among the students.

Giraldo praised what he called "sistering relationships" between community and labor groups in the United States and Cuba. He cited Jobs for Justice and Communication Workers for America as two such groups in the United States.

During the question-and-answer session, one member of the audience expanded the discussion to Venezuela, explaining that she was worried about the negative media coverage received by President Hugo Chavez in the United States. Giraldo laughed slightly and said, "You should be worried." Then he offered an explanation.

"This is a country and a people trying to capture their own identity," he said. "And any country that does not get down on its knees to the United States will be attacked -- and that's why Venezuela is being attacked right now."

Giraldo continually returned to American media portraits of Colombia, asserting that newspapers and television stations depicted the country only as a land of guerrillas and terrorists. Media coverage did not, he said, include analysis of governmental corruption, ethnic discrimination and unequal distribution of wealth.

He also painted the country as one of great natural riches, including oil, gold, coffee, flowers and a biodiverse ecology. His speech was received by a standing ovation from the audience, which filled one classroom and spilled into another.

Giraldo has been in New England since the fall. He will deliver several speeches in Vermont in the next few days -- a tour sponsored by Communication Workers of America District 1 and the AFL-CIO, Vermont Workers' Center and Action for Social and Ecological Justice.

Before Giraldo's speech, local union member Steve Ward and Action for Social and Ecological Justice member Brendan O'Neill placed Giraldo's struggle in a context that included Vermont, as they discussed job loss they attributed to NAFTA, along with resistance to unions in the state.

english.pravda.ru 10:00 2003-01-29

Colombia's Northeastern State of Arauca is the main focus of rebel activity

Despite Government's efforts to resume control in Arauca, the area has been the scenario of successful incursions of Colombia's main rebel groups. Last week, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, killed six soldiers and a civilian with a car bomb and the National Liberation Army, ELN, were held responsible for the kidnapping of two foreign journalists.

Notwithstanding, Colombia's Interior Minister, Fernando Londono, insists that the Government was still in control of the region. There, over 70 US Special Forces Officials are training the Colombian Army to protect oil wells and pipelines from rebel attacks. Cano Limon oil wells and pipelines have been blown up over 700 times.

Besides the oil production, the Department of Arauca is very important due to the cultivation of coca crops - some 8.000 hectares, according to official estimations - and because of its long frontier with Venezuela. All the mayors of the Department are under threat by the rebel groups and many have been killed, recently.

Therefore, the Government has increased military presence in the area, but with little success as attacks go further. The ELN and the FARC have a strong presence, but their superiority has been reduced since 2001, when paramilitary squads started challenging them.

The 10th and 45th Fronts of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Domingo LaÑ~n Front and ABC Column of the National Liberation Army (ELN), and counter-insurgent paramilitary groups, namely the Victors of Arauca Column and a supposed Capital Column in the municipality of Arauca. Since 22 September 2002, three of the region's municipalities (Arauca, Arauquita and Saravena) form part of a rehabilitation and consolidation zone decreed by the government, where the military presence has been increased.

The Human Rights group "Reporters without Borders" conducted a research in the area and concluded that local authorities systematically violate press freedom. According to the investigation, currently exist journalist on black list and even their lives are not guaranteed. "Paramilitaries killed circulated several statements, in which they declared journalists and the news media in general to be a military target", reads the report.

However, there are not only threats. Efrain Varela, a local journalist and Human Rights activist, was shot in Arauca, presumably by paramilitaries. Last week, rebel forces kidnaped two journalists from Los Angeles Times and no further information has been provided about their fate.

The 40 years Colombia's civil war has turned what used to be rich area into a battlefield. The 350 thousand inhabitants of Arauca are at risk as they live in o man's land.

Hernan Etchaleco PRAVDA.RU Argentina