Was posting that, yeah I have sources to the letter from El Pais and El Tiempo (http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/?p=12551)
The El Tiempo link has all the letters we know about so far, in the original Spanish. Glad there is a translation now by el universal, noticed NRO just picked up on the story.
Although in English I think it appeared here first on Free Republic.
NRO is reading it wrong, again “gringos” in this context means “The Americans” I think. Not a group of Americans Raul met with.
Re your #89 above ...
Regarding translation of "gringos," I think you are correct that it only refers to as-yet-unidentified "Americans," at least that is the way I always remember Colombians using the term. By my recollection, they didn't even apply it to Canadians. But I also want to point out that the FARC has a history of supplying campaign cash to foreign candidates so as to influence the outcome of elections in their favor. Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Nicaragua have
all had elections in which FARC contributions have become an issue, especially the Mexican presidential election in 2006, a subject on which I posted several threads from translated sources here at FreeRepublic, but especially the following (these are pop-up links):
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1730311/posts
And since you evidently read Spanish, the Mexico City newspaper
El Universal wrote a lot on the Chavez-FARC-Lopez Obrador connection:
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/315945.html
Since the entire effort to undermine Mexico was obviously to protect the international cocaine pipeline to the U.S., why shouldn't the FARC also contemplate going right to the end of that pipeline and getting some help there? Campaign cash is such a necessary component of politics in the U.S. that it might not be so surprising as one would think that the FARC has found a way to funnel funds into the Obama campaign.
I'm going to get all over this soon. You will hear from me.