Kidnapping in Colombia Article

bickerss says on Jun 6, 2009, 22:23:

Kidnapping in Colombia

How many hostages?
Apr 23rd 2009
From The Economist print edition

More than the government claims


LAST year millions of Colombians took to the streets to protest against hostage-taking by left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and common criminals in what has long been known as “the kidnap capital of the world”. Some of the victims are politicians such as Ingrid Betancourt, held for six years by FARC guerrillas before being freed by the army last year. Most are ordinary citizens.

But is kidnapping as prevalent as many Colombians fear? The official figures show that 437 people were seized last year. That is down from 2,882 in 2002. Yet bizarrely, perhaps, a new study by the government of President Álvaro Uribe claims that there may be just 125 hostages still being held for ransom, be that pecuniary or political.

Officials from Fondelibertad, the government’s anti-kidnap agency, have combed through the cases of the 3,307 kidnaps since 1996 that are officially still unresolved. They found that 507 of these victims had been freed or had died. A further 1,173 people were found not to be in captivity, either because they were freed and never told authorities, or because they had not in fact been kidnapped. By trawling through financial, medical and telephone records the researchers found that some people who were presumed still to be in captivity had recently opened bank accounts, had medical exams or acquired a mobile phone line. Three people on the kidnap list had later spent time in prison. In the remaining 1,502 cases there was insufficient information.

Of the 125 confirmed hostages, 66 are being held by the FARC. They include 22 soldiers and police whom the guerrillas want to swap for government concessions. In a recent statement, the FARC said that, apart from the “swappable” hostages, it is holding nine others for ransom. It said it will release an army corporal held for 11 years whose father has walked across Colombia in chains to plead for his release. Ten other hostages are being held by a second guerrilla outfit, the ELN. The remaining 49 were abducted by common criminals or by newly organised paramilitary gangs.

For many activists who work with the families of hostages, the government’s numbers are absurdly low. Fundación País Libre (Foundation for a Free Country), an NGO, says that its records suggest that 1,617 people kidnapped between 2000 and 2008 remain in captivity. The foundation is working with the families of dozens of people kidnapped by the ELN, and hundreds seized by the FARC. Fewer people are kidnapped in Colombia than a decade ago. But it is reasonable to conclude that many cases continue to go unreported. It seems wildly premature to conclude that this plague has been all but wiped out.

Investment Strategy - buying when others are crying!! Offloading when others are gloating!!!

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bickerss says on Jun 6, 2009, 22:23:

Link

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13528083

Investment Strategy - buying when others are crying!! Offloading when others are gloating!!!

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Catfish35 says on Jun 7, 2009, 00:01:

Good tip BICK.
This is typical of nobody knowing what either hand is doing. Using fear, statistics, and corruption for whatever gain is necessary.
One day there is 3000 hostages and we need more money to fight the FARC. The next day their really is no hostages and Uribe has done an outstanding job.
This type of shit is everywhere. Mostly used as tactic in The War on People (drugs). Depending on what cause is needed there is either large amounts of drugs coming into the USA or there are huge amounts that have been stopped.

Its all Bullshit...who can you believe.??
The other bogus bullshit rage is AIDS...rememeber when the hysteria hit and everyone was catching it. The hype was that people everywhere were dying of it and nobody was safe. Even mosquito bites could give it to you... Shit like.."by the year 2000 everybody will have or know somebody with AIDS" Does anybody know anybody that has AIDS?

Look at the hype the stupid Swine flu just caused....is was spreading so fast.."Pandemic" I think was the word..
Hype Hype Hype..twist twist twist..spin spin spin..

Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

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Atrevido (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 7, 2009, 04:54:

This site has staistics for Colombia:

http://www.paislibre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategor...

if that link doesn´t work just google (Colombia) paislibre.

https://sites.google.com/site/colombianaturesite/nature-images

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Zoltar says on Jun 7, 2009, 07:20:

Catfish35

I agree with you ! Dont listen to journalist or, as I call them "repeaters" (they just repeat what THEY told them to say)

Zoltar

www.zoltarsuites.com - under construction !

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