Posted on 11/28/2004 4:51:00 AM PST by ovrtaxt
A top Colombian official says US President George W Bush was targeted for assassination by Colombia's biggest Marxist rebel group this week when he visited the Caribbean port city of Cartagena.
Colombian Defence Secretary, Jorge Alberto Uribe, says informants and various sources had indicated "that various members of the FARC had been instructed by their leaders to make an attempt against President Bush".
He would not reveal details of the threat.
The US Secret Service, which protects the President, says it "does not comment or release information regarding our protective intelligence and protective methods".
"We do not discuss any alleged threats to our protectees," said Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry.
White House spokesman Jim Morrell also declined to comment on the plot.
"We have full confidence in the fine work of the Secret Service and their work with the security officials on the ground when the President travels," he said.
The 17,000-strong Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), fighting a 40 year guerrilla war against the state, has long accused the United States of backing business interests in the Andean country while ignoring the 60 per cent of the population that lives in poverty.
There was heavy security in Cartagena when Mr Bush visited the city on Monday on his way home from the APEC forum in Chile.
Military helicopters packed with armed soldiers flew over President Bush's motorcade while naval vessels kept watch offshore.
Many shops were shuttered.
The FARC has made many attempts against the life of President Alvaro Uribe, one of few conservative South American presidents with strong ties to Washington.
Mr Uribe, whose father was killed resisting kidnap by the FARC in the 1980s, narrowly survived a car bomb attack by the FARC during his 2002 presidential campaign.
The last US president to visit Colombia was Bill Clinton, whose trip to Cartagena was marked by the seizure of bomb-making materials from a house six blocks from a building he was visiting.
Mr Bush used his four-hour trip to solidify his alliance with Mr Uribe, whom he considers an ally in the effort to curtail the illegal drug trade and fight terrorism.
Colombia produces about 90 per cent of the cocaine consumed in the United States and 50 per cent of the heroin.
- Reuters
IIRC, the dinner was cancelled because Chile would not agree to having all of the guests pass through metal detectors and be searched by American security personnel. The President and his wife later had dinner with just Lagos and his wife.
It sounds as though our security was probably especially on the alert for some kind of attempt on Bush in Latin America. FARC, btw, while having its main presence in Colombia, is scattered throughout Latin America, busy causing trouble everywhere it goes.
Yes, you're correct on the metal detector thing- thanks for clarification.
Hey ... grandpa ... wake up ... You said you would take me fishing ... POP!
With Chile not agreeing that everyone should pass the the metal detectors, it makes it sound like they were actually in on it, if there was something planned.
The first incident was the blocking of GWB's SS agents from following him into an official building.
The second was the refusal to use metal detectors at a state dinner because it was "embarrassing" to the attendees.
Both cases were deeply suspicious for the single reason that the SS *always* sends an advance team to make detailed security arrangements with the locals. Neither incident should have happened.
It isn't believable that they hadn't agreed to using a metal detector in advance. The U.S. SS would have arranged for one to be there, or brought one of its own to ensure it was functioning properly.
I read an article about FARC in a National Geographic article a while back. I am surprised that the MSM hasn't taken up their cause, singing their praise at every 6:00 and 11:00 broadcast.
Was there a plot to kill Bush
in Chile?
Geopolitical expert Jack Wheeler describes disturbing security stare down
Posted: November 27, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Dr. Jack Wheeler, creator of a unique intelligence website dubbed "the oasis for rational conservatives," features a column describing what could have turned into a deadly scenario in Chile for President Bush.
On his website, To the Point, Wheeler tells a little-known story about a conflict between Bush's security detail and Chile's security over the latter's refusal to have a metal-detector at a state dinner for the president. There is speculation, Wheeler points out, that Bush-loathing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a chum of Fidel Castro, is somehow connected to the incident.
Wheeler explains that Chilean officials attempted to block Secret Service agent Nick Trotta from protecting the president.
Writes Wheeler: "The attempt was a clear double-cross, because all security arrangements are made and agreed upon for the POTUS (President of the United States) between the Secret Service and host country security well in advance and etched in stone. The Chilean police knew and agreed that Trotta would be with the president, yet they blocked him in a complete surprise.
"Far worse than this was Chilean President Lagos' refusal to have guests at a State Dinner go through a metal detector. No one attends a function with the POTUS, either here in the U.S. or anywhere in the world, without going through a metal detector, and this was agreed to way beforehand in Santiago. At the last moment, Lagos refuses – then cancels the dinner when the Secret Service won’t budge."
Available only to subscribers of To the Point, Wheeler's piece, entitled "Chavez in Chile," goes on to explain the connection to Chavez.
"Ricardo Lagos is a left-wing anti-American socialist whose hero is Salvador Allende, who almost turned Chile over to the Soviets, and a great friend of Hugo Chavez," Wheeler writes. "Was there a plan to slip a firearm into this dinner in Santiago and assassinate GW? No one in Washington is sure – but there is a very frightened and angry buzz of worry that there might have been."
It was a real kumbya piece praising the FARC and all the "good work" the rebels did for the people of Columbia. Here's the link for anyone interested
Cocaine Country NGM
Didn't Clinton pardon some people with association to FARC at the end of his admin?
No they were with the FALN...a Puerto Rican terrorist group.
So much for my swiss cheese memory. :)
This article was disquieting to read, but it is supported by the suspicions of a lot of people. There was just something extremely odd about the behavior of the Chileans.
Watching the video of the President's arrival for the dinner, there was obvious orchestration in the manner in which the Chileans moved across the doorway to cut off Nick Trotta. That was no spontaneous incident, it was obvious it was planned in advance. Only the reasons for it are in any doubt. I have a tendency to think the Chileans don't have their machismo offended that easily, that there was a more sinister reason for their actions. And their excuse on the metal detector incident is so lame that nobody could possibly believe it.
If this is true, I have a feeling that Middle Easterners are somehow behind it. They are the only ones who are fools enough to do it and think they could get away with it. It's hard for me to believe the Chilean President would be that stupid, but you never know.
Dick Cheney is the best insurance policy this country has right now. Nobody and no country should want to face the prospect of retaliation from a really angry President Cheney and U.S. military, with a Republican Senate and House backing them up. Not if they have any sense at all.
A lot of Freepers were saying prayers for President Bush and his wife and security watching all of this play out.
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