Troopers training to carry submachine guns at Logan (MP-5's)

Good pick...galil...I should have noticed that....I just didn't think Galil in Latin America as readily.

They're getting more common. And they dont as easily or as quickly wear out into unservacibility like the M16s do- some of the old Nicaraguan and Guat Galils are still in service, though with very little finish remaining. But there are new replacements easily enough available, for a price.

Your PIC above is I assume somewhere in Colombia(Dept. of Putumayo) sort of a no man's land (unless yer FARC) these days.

I have not spent time in Colombia since 1992 and it had gotten pretty bad by then. Even then the Choco near the Darien Penn. and the Lllanos and of course the SW were all very bad areas.

The Darien Gap is a very busy place lately. And particularly inhospitable to rotary-wing aircraft.

Now, I hear the both the Cauca and Magdalena valleys are rife with FARC and ELN.....back in my day...they were still out there but M-19 was the big boy. I was in Bogota(old Bogota near the Monserrate tram station) at a friend's apartment marooned when M-19 took over the Justice Ministry a few blockas away.

Spend much time down that way? That fellow in the pic....regular army?...elite battalions? or para?

Army, from one of the MP outfits, I believe. Most of my time was in Panama and Guatemala, but I got to visit in Colombia as a mailman a couple of times.

Some jobs down that war are opening up again...but the surrounding countryside can be sporty.

You know...I really liked Guat City....I used to rent a room at the old Guv's mansion in Zona 10(???...the nice one going from centro out towards the airport).

Nice altitude and friendly folks.....the best looking gals they often "imported" from Salvador ..lol

I had ship's business in San Jose on the Pacific and Santo Tomas on the Carib...bets way to Santo Tomas de Castillo was from San Pedro in Honduras....I used to enter for fun from Belize and Banque Veijo...over the river. Boy howdy...back then ....eastern Guat and northen Guat were pretty dicey in places.....I hate to say it as a hard right extremist but the gov't troops scared my ass almost as much as the bad guys....no to mention the local bandidios (extortionists).

Beautiful country...really..with all the lakes and volcanos...Antigua...hmmmmm...man you have really taken me down memory lane Archy.

Colombia and Brasil were my main CA/SA stomping grounds but I've always told folks I'd love a nice finca at say 5-6000 foot in Guat to hang out. Warm enuff for a piscena and cold enough at night for a fireplace.

You ever hit Sadler's bar?

Damned Guat generals seized one of my ships once and held it and the crew for ransom over some damaged fishmeal from Peru....bastards.

Travis,

You did some time in CA didn't ya?

Never went to La Cieba....got close...what's the other town on the coast there...Tula??

Just pulled up some info on land around there...damn cheap...less than 100/acre

I'd still prefer Guat highlands....would need some trustworthy attendants and nice armory...and dogs...in reality don't think I could expose my family to all that just so dad could live out the Padron thing...do you?...lol

I had some Mississippi buddies from the Delta who bought a 35,0000 acre farm in Paraguay about 100 clicks NW of Asuncion heading towards the Chaco for 400K. The place had a hacienda, ice plant (a necessity), lumber mill, beaucoup cattle, and self sustaing grasslands, water and plenty of outbuildings. They ship the beef to Germany freshly slaughtered in slightly refrigerated cargo jets that are not pressurized except in the cockpit....or so they say...I have never heard of such.

I also had friends who ran 707 cargo planes from Miami to Asuncion (duty free zone) with electronics bound for the Brasilian black market. They crashed and were killed over Brasil about 8 years ago. They were doubling their investment per trip.

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