November24, 2006:
Former AUC leaders, under pressure to confess their many sins
(committed before they accepted the amnesty deal), has called for FARC and ELN
leaders to join with them in a "truth commission" like operation.
South Africa pioneered the "truth commission" angle, where bad guys
only got amnesty if they admitted the bad things they had done in the past. Guilt
and the desire for revenge is always a problem when you try to use amnesty to
end civil are and insurrection. It's a particular problem in Colombia, where
the violence has been going on for several generations.
November
22, 2006: The busting up of a major drug organization, with the arrest of 76
people in Italy, Spain, South America and the United States, indicates that the
ringleaders were former leaders of the AUC. Most of the AUC has accepted the
government amnesty and disarmed, but many of the AUC people are still involved
in the cocaine business.
November
21, 2006: In Cali, three bombs went off, wounding 15 people. FARC was
suspected.
November
20, 2006: Rewards (of up to $18,000) have been offered in the city of Cali, for
information leading to the arrest of those responsible for recent attacks that
left two policemen dead. FARC was suspected. Meanwhile, in the Capital, a
Colombian journalist, working for a TV news operation owned by the Venezuelan
and Cuban governments, was arrested on terrorism charges. Meanwhile, in the
south, the army clashed with FARC, leaving eleven rebels and three soldiers
dead.