Proof Of Life In A Latin American Ally

IBD Editorials ^ | 20 Feb. 2007 | Staff

[Kitten Festival]

War On Terror: Why would a sensible ally like Colombia pull a bit of magic realism and name a recently escaped hostage its new foreign minister? Because it's trying to tell us something.

Until six weeks ago, no one knew if foreign-minister-designate, Fernando Araujo, was even alive. The then-economic development minister had been kidnapped in December 2000 and held hostage by the Marxist FARC narcoterrorists.

Tied up and trustled into the worst nightmare anyone can imagine, Araujo spent six years in a jungle captivity as his nation awaited sporadic proof of life from his captors.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, left, unexpectedly chose a recent FARC hostage, Fernando Araujo, as foreign minister. Fast forward to December 2006, when in a hail of machine-gun fire he escaped his captors and staggered five days in the wilderness to return to civilization.

Then on Monday, President Alvaro Uribe asked the still-gaunt Araujo to be Colombia's foreign minister, an unusual and risky appointment given the possibility that Araujo might still be fragile after a long ordeal of terror, boredom, threats, violence, isolation and privation.

But patriotism prompts people to do heroic things. This willingness to put nation before self may be the new role Araujo can play in helping Colombia persuade the U.S. Congress and the rest of the world to support its need for victory. It might be a brilliant choice for Uribe.

Putting a former hostage forward seemed to be Uribe's intention. He noted that Araujo "himself suffered our national tragedy, which we are committed to ending."

The message is important because not everyone outside Colombia understands. Leading the pack is the new Democrat-controlled Congress.

[roaddog727]

Bumperoo

[xcamel]

dupe?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1788308/posts

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Kitten Festival]

Oyyy, it sure is - sorry!!!!

[El Conservador]

Duplicate Colombia ping...

[Kitten Festival]

Thanks El Conservador... ping!

[StJacques]

A Latin American Left Watch ping on thread article.

It's worth reading for the human side of the confrontation with the FARC. Remember when you read about Araujo's personal story as a kidnapped hostage, that he is by no means alone in this type of tale. President Alvaro Uribe's father was killed by the FARC in a foiled 1983 kidnapping attempt also.

These men will go after the FARC.

Thunder90, I don't know which thread to use, but I saw you got this one too. At least you're on top of things.

[Kitten Festival]

Yeah, that's the whole thing about this hostage crisis - thousands of people have been killed by these Marxist thugs, and some 35,000 Colombians - and other foreigners, including Americans - have been kidnapped same way this guy was. I can't imagine a more horrible fate. God care for those people and Colombia. Marxists are a plague.

[Kitten Festival]

ping!

[Kitten Festival]

Here's the lady who got fired, in order to put this new hostage guy in the foreign minister's place - maybe it's all for the best:

[StJacques]

There were reports after that famous photo session with Chavez -- a bunch of pics were taken and you can locate some of them via Google Image Search -- that María Consuelo Araújo said she needed to go back to her room and bathe. I did a couple of searches but couldn't find anything, but I did read that.

She's really been about the only babe holding a position as high as Foreign Minister in quite a while:

     

[Kitten Festival]

She really said that? She needed to go home and bathe? She can't be all bad. Sometimes being a foreign minister's a dirty job. let me know if you see the shower reference anywhere, it is funny!

[Kitten Festival]

Here's the guy who replaced the Colombian babe as foreign minister. He looks like he still needs a good meal:

[marron]

I read Betancourt's book about a month before she was kidnapped. She was generally left-leaning, but anti-FARC. She's been held for years now.

[lapster]

Thanks do much for the ping. This is, indeed, good news. I figure that after Honduras and Guatamala, Columbia may offer the next great opportunity for US investors and resettlers.