Posted on 06/14/2005 7:57:49 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
BOGOTA, Colombia - The Ace of Diamonds? The supreme rebel commander known as "Sureshot" for his prowess in combat gets the honor. The guerrillas' ruthless military chief is the Ace of Spades. They both carry a $2.1 million bounty.
It's Colombia's version of the famous deck of cards created for U.S. soldiers hunting down ousted Saddam Hussein and other leaders from the deposed Iraqi regime.
Each Colombian card carries the name, photo and reward amount for a most-wanted insurgent leader on one side and the army's hot line on the reverse.
Army officials plan this weekend to distribute 5,000 of the decks to soldiers battling the rebels across the country, army chief Gen. Reinaldo Castellanos said Tuesday. There are currently no plans to sell them to the public.
The aim is to help troops fighting deep in rebel strongholds to "perfectly identify" insurgent leaders, Castellanos said.
Topping the list is Manuel Marulanda, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the group's military chief, Jorge Briceno. Leaders of Colombia's smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army, also figure prominently.
The rebels, who fund themselves through drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, have been struggling to topple the government and establish a Marxist-style state for 40 years. The conflict kills more than 3,000 people every year.
Absent from the list are chieftains of the United Self-Defense Forces, or AUC, an outlawed right-wing paramilitary faction that has been waging a dirty war of killings and massacres against suspected rebel sympathizers. AUC leaders are currently involved in peace talks with the government and have been given immunity from arrest.
Two renegade paramilitary leaders who have shunned negotiations, however, are the 2 and 3 of Hearts.
The jokers are three captured FARC commanders - two of whom have been extradited to the United States on drug-related charges.
A soldier shows cards with the faces of top ranking rebel commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in Bogota, Tuesday, June 13, 2005. The army printed 5,000 decks of cards with the faces of rebels commanders to distribute among soldiers fighting rebels in the south of the country. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Unfortunately, the AUC have become drug runners and common thugs, as bad as the FARC and ELN. They are currently recongized by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Amen...its a rathole down there. There are no solutions viable.
Colombian ping
Would you call this "a rathole"???
Now, tell me this is a rathole!!!
Isn't the President of Columbia very pro American?
Thanks for the ping!.
Cool photos, although you need to show some more Chicas to illustrate your point. ;-)
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