UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

JOINT TASK FORCE NORTH

OPEN SOURCE REPORT

10 August 2010
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For further information on any item, please contact the JTF North J-2.

Compiled and Edited by: CW3 Brian Woodworth

Reviewed by: Mr. Bruce Truesdale
Approved for Release by: Mr. Sotero G. Reyes

CONTENTS: (Note: All active hyperlinks have been removed)

NORTHERN BORDER
A. Cocaine Seizure at Pearson Airport
B. Project “O” Viper
C. Another Security Breach at Pearson Airport

SOUTHERN BORDER

D. The Drug War in Mexico: By Any Other Name It's Terrorism

E. Cocaine Seizure at Brownsville B&M International Bridge
F. Friday Night Shootout in Reynosa, Tamaulipas
G. Arrest of Kidnappers who Killed Governor’s Nephew
H. Twelve Kidnap Victims Rescued in Nuevo Leon
I. Soldiers Seize Cocaine at Cucapah Checkpoint in Sonora
J. Marijuana Farm Discovered in Tecate, Baja California
K. Four Bodies Found in Guerrero

CENTRAL and SOUTH AMERICA

L. Talks with FARC to End Violence

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A. COCAINE SEIZURE AT PEARSON AIRPORT

07 August 2010
The Star

A woman has been arrested at Pearson airport after being caught with thousands of buttons
containing cocaine. Officials from Canadian Border Services became suspicious of the more than
3,000 large buttons being flown in from Barbados and questioned the woman. ―Her answers just
weren’t adding up,‖ said Insp. Steve Saunders of the RCMP, adding that the buttons looked like
oversized coat buttons. Police later discovered about 9 kg of cocaine, worth roughly $ 1 million,
concealed inside the buttons, which Saunders called ―significant,‖ given the method of
concealment. He says the seizure happened on July 17, but the information was not publicly
released in the early stages of the investigation. The previous day, RCMP officers from the
airport detachment disrupted a cocaine ring using human couriers to smuggle the drug into
Canada. Another 9 kg of cocaine were confiscated in the earlier case. Sgt. Frank Gougeon said
the two busts were not connected.

Source: [www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/845236--woman-arrested-over-cocaine-filled-
buttons]

B. PROJECT “O” VIPER

06 August 2010
The London Free Press
ONTARIO: A pile of cash seized — in all, more than $ 460,000. Seven vehicles scooped up,
including a luxury BMW. More than $ 170,000 worth of drugs — crack cocaine, heroin and pot
— intercepted from the street. Calling it a ―significant‖ bust that puts a dent in ―mid-level‖ drug
dealing, police Thursday rolled out the results of a two-month, London-area investigation
(Ontario) in which seven people were charged with dozens of offences among them. ―Any time
you can take away the proceeds of crime, that’s significant,‖ London police Chief Brad Duncan
said at a news conference. ―It’s the proceeds that fuel the (illicit) drug industry, and this seizure
puts a dent in their operations.‖

The joint drug investigation, dubbed Project ―O‖ Viper, was led by London-area police —
including city police, the RCMP and the OPP. More than 50 city officers, RCMP and OPP
officers were involved in the probe, sparked by information obtained by ―street-level‖ drug unit
officers. The suspects face a total of 32 criminal charges and 30 drug-related charges.

Seized were crack cocaine valued at $ 24,000, heroin worth $ 50,000 and marijuana valued at
about $ 100,000. Seven bags of cash were displayed at police headquarters, much of it seized
from bank safe-deposit boxes. A 2001 BMW luxury car was seized as proceeds from a crime.
Six other cars were seized because police believe they were used to commit crimes. Police also
recovered a stolen vehicle during their pre-dawn raids at six London residences and two
properties west of Newbury near West Lorne (Ontario). Seven warrants were obtained to search
safety deposit boxes at financial institutions, police said. ―This investigation targets street-level
sale of crack cocaine and the people responsible for distributing it,‖ said Duncan. ―This is an
investigation that is continuing and we do expect there will be further arrests and seizures.‖
RCMP Chief Supt. Norm Mazerole praised the police ―team‖ approach used. ―Targeting this
type of crime in our communities remains a key priority for us,‖ he said. ―Teams like this
contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of our investigations.‖ Charged are:
Conroy Rose, 42, of London, 18 charges for trafficking, possession of the proceeds of
crime and breach of recognizance.
Oral Beadle, 45, of London, five counts of trafficking and two of possession of the
proceeds of crime.
Clive Stewart, 41, of London, one charge of trafficking.
Courtney Gray, 35, of London, two counts of trafficking, two of possession of the
proceeds of crime and two of breaching a recognizance.
Shari-Lynn Rose, 25, of London, three counts each of trafficking and possession of the
proceeds of crime.
Hamid Golbaz, 34, of Newbury, two counts of trafficking, one of possession of the
proceeds of crime and one of breach of recognizance, plus charges of possession of drugs
and production of marijuana.

Source: [www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/08/05/14933111.html]

C. ANOTHER SECURITY BREACH AT PEARSON AIRPORT

08 August 2010
Toronto Sun
Police are probing an alleged breach of security at Pearson airport after a handcuffed woman
accused of smuggling drugs escaped from detention and was nabbed by Peel Regional Police
running along a road. Airport security officials are viewing video from security cameras at
Terminal 1 for clues on how the woman escaped from a secure Customs Hall and to prevent
similar getaways in the future.

Peel police confirmed on Sunday that the woman was nabbed on July 28 ―running with
handcuffs‖ in the Airport Rd., and Hwy. 409 area. The incident wasn’t made public by the
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for ―security reasons.‖ ―This sort of thing doesn’t
happen often at the airport,‖ one Peel officer said. ―She was arrested by our officers and returned
to Customs.‖ The woman, who claimed to be visiting Canada, arrived on a flight from Jamaica
and was sent for a secondary check due to suspicious behavior, according to Customs officers,
who spoke on the condition of anonymity. She was handcuffed and apparently sitting down in a
chair.

―The investigating officer turned his back for a minute and she was gone,‖ one officer said.
―There was a major panic attack to find her.‖ CBSA spokesman Vanessa Barrasa said the suspect
was selected by officers to undergo a secondary check after they found bottles of wine with
suspected cocaine inside. Barrasa said the cocaine had a street value of $ 150,000 and the suspect
was charged for importing a controlled substance. The suspect will likely be deported to Jamaica
if convicted of the offence, police said, adding they believe the suspect was being used as a
courier by foreign drug lords. Earlier this month, there was also a security breach at Montreal’s
Trudeau International Airport after two Muslim women, whose identities were unchecked and
concealed by the veils they wore, were permitted to board an Air Canada flight to London,
England.

Source: [www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/08/08/14959991.html]

D. THE DRUG WAR IN MEXICO: BY ANY OTHER NAME IT'S TERRORISM

09 August 2010
Mexidata

While the Mexican government has done all it can to impart an encouraging national image
abroad, and to keep the struggle against drug cartels, organized crime and other perpetrators of
violence from being categorized as a war versus terrorism, said efforts would seem to have gone
up in smoke. This insofar as car bombings by drug lords, their henchmen or others, like the two
that have been committed in recent weeks, are hard to depict as anything less than terrorism.
Especially when coupled with Mexico's broader narcoterrorist violence, mayhem and deaths that
have reached record levels.

Details on the most recent car bombing, which took place in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, on
August 5, at this writing have yet to be determined or made public, albeit for a police bulletin
and news reports that for the most part included information from the preliminary police report.
Yet the explosion that destroyed one vehicle, and damaged two adjacent patrol cars parked in a
state police compound — fortunately with no harm to police or bystanders, is being ascribed by
authorities to a coche-bomba, a car bomb. The July 15 car bombing in Ciudad Juárez,
Chihuahua, that shares the border with El Paso, Texas, was far more publicized and
sensationalized, this of course because of where it occurred and due to the fact that it targeted
federal police, killed three people and wounded nine. Plus it was said to be the first car bombing
against Mexican security forces in their fight against drug lords and narcotraffickers.

With respect to the car bombing count, the fact is since 1992 there have been at least five
"vehicle born improvised explosive devices" that exploded, three of which appeared to be part of
cartel infighting that unsuccessfully targeted Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia, a drug kingpin
of the Sinaloa Cartel. The others, one in Chiapas and another in Acapulco, Guerrero, against
nearby quasi-government and military installations, were thought to be by small guerrilla groups
for supposed social causes. Blame for the July 15, 2010 attack has been attributed to hit men for
the Juárez Cartel, with the bomb reportedly triggered by means of a cell phone. And the
explosives are thought to have been Tovex, not C-4 as reported by some.

Regarding C-4 plastic explosives, spokesmen for the office of Mexico's Attorney General were
adamant that it was not used. This maybe based on evidence, but too with a dose of political
sensitivity related to the possibility that military-type plastic explosives, those often associated
with terrorist bombings, covert actions and foreign intrigue, were utilized in Mexico. Tovex is a
water gel explosive that has replaced dynamite almost entirely in mining, construction, oil
seismic exploration, and a number of other industrial uses. And over the past decade there have
been several known thefts of Tovex in Mexico. [1]

Fingers in most of the theft cases of the aforementioned industrial use explosives have been
pointed at so-called Mexican insurgents, especially those associated with the small Popular
Revolutionary Army, the EPR, and its splinter groups. Said explosives were apparently those
used by the EPR in well publicized bombings of central Mexico's natural gas pipelines in 2007.
Yours truly wrote the following in 2007: "The explosives used, which are apparently in the
hands of EPR associates, were stolen in two known robberies of mining and construction firms,
the first in San Luis Potosí in 2003, and the second in Oaxaca in 2006. According to Mexico’s
Office of the Attorney General (PGR), approximately 1,900 of the stolen 'RXL-788 emulsion
explosive' devices are in the hands of two EPR splinter groups, the ―Comando Jaramillista
Morelense 23 de Mayo,‖ and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People (FARP)."[2]

Yet with the stolen devices, organized crime and drug lords too may be — and/or have been —
involved. Furthermore, this is to say nothing of other explosives quite possibly acquired since,
by hook or by crook. Any of which may be in use today — and no matter what, in the hearts and
minds of people their use is terrifying.

And yes today it is narcoterrorism.

The Mexican government, however, has ordered that the term narcoterrorism is not to be used
nor accepted. "We have no evidence of narcoterrorism in the country; (…) the motivation of
these groups is economic, not ideological," Attorney General Arturo Chavez Chavez said
recently.
Splitting hairs, Federal Deputy Ardelio Vargas Fosado, who chairs the National Defense
Committee in the lower house of Congress, said that car bomb attacks by drug traffickers are not
terrorist acts. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) member said, "They cannot legally be
considered terrorist acts since they do not meet all of the criteria noted in the Federal Penal
Code."[3] Still, he continued, "explosives that generate agitation in social groups, causing fear
and panic in the people, are used in the practice of terrorism. The use of explosive devices,
especially car bombs in the war against narcotrafficking, is very similar to terrorism criminally,
which poses a clear challenge to authorities."

A retort for many came from the Catholic Church. Bishop Raúl Vera, of Saltillo, Coahuila, said
that narcoterrorism has been present in Mexico for years. He also said that to acknowledge this
could involve funds of the criminal groups being frozen, this according to that established by the
UN Security Council. He added that perhaps this detail explains the government's refusal to
recognize the phenomenon. (La Jornada, Mexico, D.F., 8/07/10) Still somewhat cryptic, an
opinion article disseminated by Bishop Vera's office entitled, "Why does the government evade
talking about narcoterrorism?," also suggests that the answer may lie in the UN Security Council
resolution against terrorist groups, which comes under Chapter VII of the United Nations
Charter. "In said resolution the Council decides that any organization that is denounced before
the UN by any of the member states as a terrorist group, may have its funds and other financial
assets, or economic resources of persons who commit or intend to commit acts of terrorism or to
participate in them or facilitate their commission, as well as all their associates, frozen
immediately."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] See MexiData.info: Bombings and Other Explosive Actions in Mexico (7/30/07); Mexican
Rebels and Their Assault on the Future (7/23/07); and Mexico's So-called "Popular
Revolutionary Army" (7/16/07).
[2] Ibid.

[3] Having gone through Mexico's Federal Penal Code (in Spanish), and looking at every Article
that includes the keyword "terror" or a derivative thereof (and thus also seeing maybe how the
congressman came up with his spin), it appears to this observer that he is simply wrong — and
that the two car bombings can and should be classified as terrorist acts.

The editor of MexiData.info, has spent 50 years in Mexico and Latin America, providing
multinational clients with actionable intelligence; country and political risk reporting and
analysis; and business, lobbying, and problem resolution services.

Source: [www.mexidata.info/id2755.html]

Editorial Comment: Texas has asked for 1,000 National Guard soldiers to be sent to the border
to prevent violence from impacting innocent people along the U.S. border. The request was made
today (August 9) in a letter delivered to the White House.

Spanish Source for Comment: [www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/700563.html] 09 August 2010

E. COCAINE SEIZURE AT BROWNSVILLE B&M INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE

06 August 2010
Valley Central

A Matamoros man is behind bars after he allegedly tried to smuggle more than $1.7 million
dollars worth of cocaine inside one of the world's smallest cars. U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) officers arrested Jorge Eduardo Flores-Hernandez on federal drug charges on
Thursday. The 26-year-old man drove up from Mexico at Brownsville's B&M International
Bridge inside a 2002 BMW Mini Cooper.

Customs officers allegedly found 22 bundles with 54.5 pounds of cocaine packed into a hidden
compartment towards the rear of the vehicle. Authorities believe the drugs are worth about $
1,744,000 dollars on the streets. Flores-Hernandez appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Court
Judge in Brownsville on Friday morning. Investigators told the News that Flores-Hernandez is a
Mexican citizen from Matamoros. The Judge denied bond for Flores-Hernandez until a
Wednesday afternoon hearing.

Source: [www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=493660]

F. FRIDAY NIGHT SHOOTOUT IN REYNOSA, TAMAULIPAS

08 August 2010
Valley Central

Calm has returned to the beleaguered border city of Reynosa following a Friday night shootout
and explosions in the Colonia Las Fuentes. Users on the social media network Twitter reported
the shootout Friday evening. Reynosa city officials confirmed a "situation of risk" around 7:58
p.m. Friday. Authorities asked residents to avoid Bulevar Mil Cumbres and Bulevar del
Maestro. In one warning posted at 9:01 p.m. Friday officials said, "Even though you no longer
hear explosions, the situation of risk still continues for your safety." Reynosa officials lifted the
alert at 9:21 p.m. Friday. According to reports on Twitter, both Saturday and Sunday have been
calm.

The Colonia Las Fuentes is located behind a popular shopping center that includes an H-E-B
grocery store, Sanborns, a Chili's restaurant, a movie theater and Home Depot. Another shootout
that involved a narcoblockade was reported in the same neighborhood back in April. A bus was
hijacked and three people were wounded during the April incident.

Source: [www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=493885]

G. ARREST OF KIDNAPPERS WHO KILLED GOVERNOR’S NEPHEW

09 August 2010
Diario
Summary Translation of Spanish Source: CW3 Brian Woodworth
The Office of the State Attorney General for Justice reports the arrest of six members of a
Sinaloa cartel cell who are accused of killing businessman, Mario Humberto Medina Vela, the
nephew of the Governor elect, César Duarte Jáquez. The Attorney General (for the State of
Chihuahua) Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez reported that the leader of the group, Elizabeth
Rodriguez Griego, alias La Doña, was shot 30 times and killed last Saturday at room 113 at the
Howard Johnson hotel in Parral (Chihuahua), where she registered under the name of Laura
Acosta Cháidez.

The Attorney General asserted that the homicide of La Doña and a man who accompanied her
led to the capture of criminals who were working in two criminal cells and who are identified as:
Luis Fernando Amaro
Joel Favela
Francisco Martin Gomez Jimenez
Sebastián Rivas Bilbao
Lorenzo Javier Gurrola Carlos
Juan Carlos Hernandez

The Attorney General stated during a press conference that the suspects are implicated in 18
homicides and 8 kidnappings, although the actual number could be higher. Among the members
of the criminal group is a former municipal police officer, Jesus José Reyes Aldaz, who was the
personal bodyguard and driver for the former Public Security director, Lázaro Gaytán Aguirre,
during the administration of Juan Alberto Blanco Zaldívar. He was fired from the police
department after getting caught stealing women’s undergarments from a store on September 19,
2006. Members of the criminal organization who have not yet been arrested are:
Jesus José Reyes Aldaz, alias El Chuy, former municipal police officer
Saúl Omar Gamboa Perez, alias El Pátula
Salvador Govea Vargas, alias El Chava, former state police officer (CIPOL)
Roberto Carlos Baca Martinez, alias El Beto
El Dany
El Cuñado
El Coyote
El Lobo
El Tonto
El Lalo
El Ondeado

Reportedly, Marco Antonio Felix Cuevas, alias El Tony, from Culiacan, Sinaloa, could take over
leadership of the organization. As a result, a reward of a half million pesos has been offered for
information which leads to his capture. The suspects who are under arrest kidnapped
businessmen or their relatives, and killed members of rival criminal organizations. During the
operation which led to their capture, authorities seized 4 safe houses and 9 new vehicles. Among
the vehicles seized is a black Durango used during the attempted kidnapping of Mario Humberto
Medina, who ended up being shot and killed during the kidnapping attempt on July 14 outside a
business owned by his family. The safe houses are located at:
 15300 Monte Coman in Colonia Quintas Carolinas V Etapa
1210 Fernando Montes de Oca Street in Colonia 20 Aniversario
4004 Ratkai Street in the San Francisco district
3218 Dakota del Norte, in Colonia Quintas del Sol

The Office of the State Attorney General for Justice (PGJE) reported that the kidnappers are
believed to be responsible for kidnappings of businessmen between 20 and 38 years of age and
for making ransom demands of up to 500,000 pesos. The suspects admitted to having killed a
person known as El 20 at the Los 3 Garcia bar and to having killed a man known as Bustillos. In
both cases, the victims were killed because they worked for a rival criminal organization.

Spanish Source: [www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=3c7f17f1975abcaa8872e4e7d23dccd5]

Editorial Comment: Another news source reported slight difference in the names for two of the
suspects who are under arrest, identifying them as Luis Fernando Becerra and Joel Favela
Holguín. The gang received orders to kill from a man known as El Cholo. Marco Antonio Felix
Cuevas, alias El Tony, served as the kidnappers’ boss and has not yet been captured, according
to another news source.

Spanish Source for Editorial Comment:

[www.eldiariodechihuahua.com/notas.php?IDNOTA=204939&IDSECCION=Portada&IDREPO
RTERO=De%20la%20Redacción] 09 August 2010

Editorial Comment: The full text of the news article did not name the town or city where the
safe houses were located but simply listed the street addresses and Colonia. However, another
news source indicated that the safe houses were located in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Another news
source provided an organizational chart and photos of some of the suspects. The governor’s
nephew was killed during a failed kidnapping attempt in Chihuahua, Chihuahua.

Spanish Source for Photos: [www.oem.com.mx/elheraldodechihuahua/notas/n1739343.htm] 10

August 2010
Spanish Source for Comment: [www.elmonitorparral.com/?p=67778] 15 July 2010

H. TWELVE KIDNAP VICTIMS RESCUED IN NUEVO LEON

07 August 2010
Yahoo.com

Marines rescued 12 people who allegedly were kidnapped by an organized crime gang in the
northern border state of Nuevo Leon, one of the Mexican regions grappling with drug violence,
the military said Saturday. The Department of Navy said the people had been kidnapped Aug. 3
and 6 and were found Friday in a house in the municipality of Guadalupe, near Monterrey, the
state capital.

None of the abductors was arrested and their gang affiliation had not been determined, the
statement said. Mexico's northeastern border region, including Nuevo Leon, has been hit hard by
escalating violence involving drug cartels, which also have branched out into kidnapping and
extortion. The government blames much of the region's bloodshed on a turf war that erupted with
a split between the Gulf cartel and the Los Zetas gang.

Source: [news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100807/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico]

I. SOLDIERS SEIZE COCAINE AT CUCAPAH CHECKPOINT IN SONORA

09 August 2010
La Voz de la Frontera
Summary Translation of Spanish Source: CW3 Brian Woodworth

SAN LUIS R.C. SONORA: One hundred and ninety kilograms of cocaine, methamphetamine
and heroin having a value of 11.5 million dollars were seized at the Cucapah checkpoint,
approximately 20 kilometers from San Luis Río Colorado on the highway to Sonoyta. The driver
of the tractor trailer truck which was supposed to be loaded with bananas was arrested but his
identity has not been disclosed. The driver is only described as a being 39 years old and is from
Culiacan, Sinaloa. According to preliminary investigations, the shipment left Colima, Colima
and was heading to Mexicali, Baja California. The vehicle is described as a white, 2007
International with Federal Public Service plates 523-DV8 and is registered to Logística Pacífico-
Norte. The drugs were found in a hidden compartment in the walls of the vehicle during a routine
inspection. Authorities seized 120 kilograms of cocaine in 116 packages, 60 kilograms of ―ice‖
in 115 packages and 10 kilograms of heroin in 115 packages. Under tight security, the vehicle
was transferred to the military base located in the community of Las Adelitas.

Spanish Source: [www.oem.com.mx/lavozdelafrontera/notas/n1738552.htm]

Editorial Comment: The city of Colima is the capital and main city of the Mexican state and
municipality of the same name. It is one of the oldest cities in Mexico. In the 2005 census the
city had a population of 123,597 people, and its municipality had a population of 132,273. The
state is located on the Pacific Ocean and is boarded to the north by the State of Jalisco and to the
South by the State of Michoacan.

Source for Comment: [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colima,_Colima]

J. MARIJUANA FARM DISCOVERED IN TECATE, BAJA CALIFORNIA

08 August 2010
El Sol de Tijuana
Summary Translation of Spanish Source: CW3 Brian Woodworth

Two marijuana fields measuring 30,000 square meters were discovered in Tecate. Military
personnel (SEDENA) while conducting ground patrols 28 kilometers to the south of the
municipality of Tecate discovered the two marijuana fields which contained plants that were 2
meters tall.
Spanish Source: [www.oem.com.mx/elsoldetijuana/notas/n1737136.htm]

K. FOUR BODIES FOUND IN GUERRERO

09 August 2010
Latin American Herald Tribune

Four bullet-riddled bodies were found in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, officials said.
The bodies of four people killed gangland-style were found along with ―narcomessages‖ in the
cities of Tecoanapa and Petatlan. The bodies of Mario Uriostegui Hernandez, 20, and his brother,
Ursulo, were found Saturday morning on the Ayutla-Tierra Colorada federal highway, the
Guerrero Public Safety Secretariat said. Two other bodies were found a few minutes later on the
Acapulco-Zihuatanejo highway near Loma del Toro, an area in the city of Petatlan, the
secretariat said. The two men ―had their hands bound and their eyes were covered with masking
tape,‖ the secretariat said, adding that both had been ―shot in the back of the head.‖

Guerrero has been rocked by drug-related violence over the past six months as a gang led by
Edgar Valdez Villarreal has fought a rival faction for control of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel.
Control of the cartel has been up for grabs since powerful drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva was
killed in a shootout with marines on Dec. 16 in Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos state and
main bastion of the criminal organization.

The organization created by the five Beltran Leyva brothers – Marcos Arturo, Mario Alberto,
Carlos, Alfredo and Hector – smuggles cocaine, marijuana and heroin. The cartel is also
involved in people trafficking, money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, contract hits and arms
trafficking. Two weeks after Arturo was killed, Carlos Beltran Leyva was arrested on Dec. 30 in
Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, where he was going by the alias of Carlos Gamez. Arturo
and Mario Alberto shared the leadership of the Beltran Leyva cartel, which arose as a splinter
group of the powerful Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquin ―El Chapo‖ (Shorty) Guzman. (…)

Source: [www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=362315&CategoryId=14091]

Editorial Comment: A leading Mexican newspaper, El Universal, reported on August 10, 2010
that a total of 6,994 people have been executed in all of Mexico so far this year.

Spanish Source for Comment: [www.eluniversal.com.mx/coberturas/esp207.html] August 10,

2010

L. TALKS WITH FARC TO END VIOLENCE

07 August 2010
Latin American Herald Tribune

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos told the FARC on Saturday that he is ―open‖ to talks
to put an end to the violence, but on condition that the rebel group gives up its ―weapons,
kidnapping and drug trafficking.‖ ―As long as they do not free their hostages, while they
continue committing terrorist acts, as long as they do not return children recruited by force, while
they continue to use mines and contaminate the fields of Colombia, we will continue to combat
all those who practice violence without exception,‖ Santos said in his inaugural address.

That was his response to the message from the maximum leader of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Guillermo Leon Saenz, alias ―Alfonso Cano,‖ who proposed
talks to the new government in order to end the ―terrible situation‖ the country is going through,
in a message recorded during the ―month of July‖ and posted last week on the Internet.

―To the illegal armed groups that speak again of dialogue and negotiation, I tell them that my
government will be open to any talks that seek to eradicate violence and build a more
prosperous, fair and just society,‖ Santos said. But he also noted that there are some ―unalterable
premises‖ that must be complied with before talks can begin: giving up ―weapons, kidnapping,
drug trafficking, extortion and intimidation.‖

He added that ―this is not some capricious request from the government of the moment,‖ but the
―cry of a nation‖ that ―most of all desires peace‖ and rejects ―those who persist in senseless,
fratricidal violence.‖ The new Colombian president promised not to rest ―until the rule of law
reigns supreme‖ in every corner of the land, for which he asked the general staff of the armed
forces ―to continue getting results and making sound progress‖ in the fight against illegal armed
groups. ―I wish to repeat what I said before, the door to dialogue is not closed,‖ Santos said,
adding that he aspires to ―laying the foundation of true reconciliation, of genuine disarmament.‖

In his closing words, he said: ―It is possible to have a Colombia at peace, a Colombia without
rebel warfare, and we’re going to show it can be done.‖
Santos also said in his swearing-in address that one of his goals ―will be to rebuild relations with
Venezuela and Ecuador, to reestablish the confidence while favoring diplomacy and prudence.‖
―We want to live in peace with our neighbors, we will respect them so that they will respect us,‖
Santos said before some 5,000 guests at his inauguration, including the president of Ecuador,
Rafael Correa, and the foreign minister of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.

Santos was sworn-in Saturday as the 59th president of Colombia after receiving the tricolor sash
from the congressional speaker, Armando Benedetti.
Present at the inauguration ceremony were some 20 high-ranking dignitaries, among heads of
state and government and including Crown Prince Felipe of Spain.

Source: [www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=362215&CategoryId=12393]

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