Colombian Government Party Leader Arrested for Ties to Rebels; FARC Operative Arrested in Spain; Ecuadorean Government Seizes TV Stations

By Christopher Gehrke
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Senator Carlos Garcia, the head of one of Colombia’s main governing parties, was arrested Friday for alleged ties to rebel paramilitary groups.

The senator’s National Unity Party holds the most seats in Colombia’s senate.  Garcia is an ally of President Alvaro Uribe, and his party was promoting efforts to hold a referendum that would let Uribe run for a third consecutive term.

Ten percent of Colombia’s Congress has been imprisoned since last year on charges of benefitting from death squads that killed thousands and stole land from thousands more, reports CNN.com.

Garcia denies any ties with paramilitary groups.

For more information, please see:

CNN (AP) – Colombian party chief accused of paramilitary ties – 25 July 2008

Xinhua – Leader of Colombia’s major party arrested for alleged paramilitary ties – 26 July 2008

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MADRID, Spain – Spanish police have taken a woman into custody that they believe belongs to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and its members based in Europe.

According to authorities, Maria Remedios Garcia Albert used an NGO to funnel money and provide support to European FARC members in Switzerland and Sweden.

She was arrested Saturday in a town approximately 35 miles northwest of Madrid.  The arrest was based on information found in laptops seized by Colombian police, who have been working with Spanish authorities.

It is believed that Garcia Albert used her job in OSPAAAL, an NGO registered in Spain to provide funds and social help to underdeveloped areas, as cover for supporting FARC financially.  It is believed that she liaised directly with now-deceased FARC commander Raul Reyes, reported AP.

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune (AP) – Spanish police arrest woman on suspicion of belonging to Colombian FARC rebels – 27 July 2008

Xinhua – Spanish police arrest FARC representative in Spain – 27 July 2008

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QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador’s government seized television stations and nearly 200 other businesses for debts stemming from bank failures in the 1990s, AP reports.  The economy minister resigned just hours after the takeover.

In addition to police raids taking over the offices of TC Television Gamavision, police also took over dozens of other properties linked to bankers who fled to the U.S. because of embezzlement charges that resulted in estimated losses of $661 million for Filanbanco alone.

Station representatives called the government’s action an attack on the freedom of press.  State television president Enrique Arosemena, who was placed in charge of the seized stations, said they “are going to have a new editorial line, like all channels have, depending on their administrators.”

Gamavision president Alvaro Dassum (cousin of the fugitive bankers) issued a statement Tuesday that Gamavision “has nothing to do with Filibanco.”

“I protest and reject this arbitrary seizure,” he said, labeling it “a crude attack against freedom of expression and free enterprise.”

TC Television’s director general, Jorge Kronfle, issued a weekend statement in response to rumors of the takeover, warning Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa that a seizure “would not only attack freedom of the press in Ecuador but would also gravely affect the image of his government on the international level.”  He continued to say tha the TV stations’ business has nothing to do with the fugitive bankers.

Correa’s allies are currently proposing a new constitution that would boost his power and keep him in office until 2017.

For more information, please see:

AP – Ecuador seizes TV stations; economy minister quits – 25 July 2008

Reuters – Ecuador’s president’s allies propose new constitution – 25 July 2008