My take on the problems down south

posted by The Vidiot @ 12:23 PM Permalink

And by down south, I mean South America, Chavez, et al.

As we all know, for some time now, the US has been meddling is South American politics, Columbia being the recipient of the most meddling, IMHO. One vile dictator after another has been installed as a leader in that country with the result being that there’s been a civil war raging there for years. FARC is one of the opposition players (revolutionary group if you prefer). It’s hard to find anything written about FARC that isn’t US-centered in it’s POV; FARC is bad, FARC is a narcotrafficker, FARC is Satan's minions. If I had to guess, and I do, I would say that FARC is pretty aggressive with their tactics, maybe even reprehensible to some degree, but they are merely reacting to the power of the Columbian government, power that is supplemented with the steroids of US involvement.

So the recent fracas between Ecuador, Venezuela and Columbia is as follows: Rebels (FARC) held Columbian hostages just inside the border in Ecuador. The Ecuadorian government was negotiating with the rebels for the release of the hostages but before they could complete negotiations, the Columbians took matters into their own hands and tried to rescue the hostages. The Ecuadorian government said, in effect, “screw you guys, we’re going home” and then promptly severed ties with Columbia. Venezuela agreed that the Columbians acted like asses and, along with Ecuador, sent troops to the border.

Columbia is like “whoa, chill dudes” while, at the same time, pointing fingers at Ecuador and Venezuela, saying, “But just so you know, they provide financial and material support to FARC, a group that has been trying to overthrow the Columbian government for some time now. I’m just sayin’.” Columbia also said that somebody shot missiles at them, prompting their action, justifying their going into Ecuador to take care of business.

So, though it’s hard to side with FARC what with all the bombings and hostage-takings and all, this latest escapade by the Columbian government has all of Latin America pretty united against Columbia and NOT FARC. Cuba and Venezuela in particular are blaming US imperialism as the root of the problem because Columbia is like the US Government’s Mini-me. And, if you look at how the US tends to act against perceived terrorists, the Columbian Government acted in line with that. To the US government, it don’t matter no-how what you do to git them damn terrorists, you just gotta’ git ‘em any ways that you can.

Bottom line, Columbia bombed and killed within the sovereign borders of another country without asking permission and without warning. If you walk into somebody else’s home uninvited for whatever the reason, you’re in the wrong, plain and simple. By looking at what was done, how it was done, and the obvious repercussions, it’s not a great leap in thought to think that maybe, just maybe, the US was poking a stick at Chavez YET AGAIN.

Labels: latin america, south america, venzuela