Colombia rebels rule out hostage swap

[bemildred]

The FARC is holding dozens of hostages - including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three American defense contractors - whom it says will only be freed in exchange for hundreds of imprisoned rebels, including Palmera.

But President Alvaro Uribe, who is pursuing a military offensive against the FARC, is reluctant to agree to such a deal amid fears it could weaken state authority and set the stage for another wave of abductions. His hard-line attitude has angered the hostages' families.

FARC spokesman Raul Reyes said in a separate interview published Monday that all the hostages, including the three Americans and Betancourt, were in "good health."

"Just like the guerillas deprived of their liberty, they are waiting impatiently for their freedom," Reyes said in the interview conducted by e-mail with France's Le Figaro newspaper.

Kansas City Star

[Say_What]

1. Those three CIA guys have been gone since 2003

when their plane was shot down while on an intelligence mission.

Found this article at a Special Forces website. Check out the photo of their flag below.

<clips>

BOGOTA, Colombia - Leftist rebels on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that they shot down a U.S. plane and are holding hostage three Americans they accuse of being CIA (news - web sites) agents. The White House sent 150 soldiers to join the search for the captives.

The Americans were on a U.S. government plane on an intelligence mission when it crashed on Feb. 13. A fourth American and a Colombian army sergeant were shot and killed at the site.

"We can only guarantee the life and physical integrity of the three gringo officials in our power if the Colombian army immediately suspends military operations and overflights in the area," the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said in a statement.

Gen. Jorge Enrique Mora, Colombia's top military commander, rejected the rebel demand and said the search for the three Americans would proceed in the mountains and jungles of southern Colombia.

http://www.groups.sfahq.com/7th/2003_02_rebels_admit_shooting.htm

[Say_What]

2. More about that CIA plane that was shot down in 2003 (WOW)

Man, this guy did some homework complete with plane registrations and photos at Base Camp in the Nevada desert:

<clips>

...Updated information (February 2003):

A Cessna similar to the ones below and owned by One Leasing, crashed in Columbia (South America) on February, 13, 2003. ABC news checked into One Leasing and found the following (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030213_2127.html ):

The crashed plane's registration number is N1116G, according to the Colombian civil air agency. Records show the plane with that registration number was leased by One Leasing Inc.

Incorporation papers listed AAS Inc. of Hampton, Ga., as the incorporator for One Leasing, but there were no telephone listings in Hampton for the company or the man listed as its president, Ronald B. Powers.

There was much confusion as to who was on-board the airplane. This Washington Post article attempts to "clarify" the situation (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10417-2003Feb14.html):

A Defense Department official in Washington confirmed the men were civilians employed by the Pentagon as contractors, but added that they were detailed to work for the U.S. Embassy. Typical operations on such flights includes locating and targeting coca plantations for later eradication by Colombian troops. The Washington Post incorrectly reported Friday that the four Americans were civilian contractors employed by the CIA.

The BBC begs to differ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2765203.stm):

US officials said that the men were "civilian specialist contractors", but the BBC correspondent in Bogota says they were believed to be working with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The Associated Press found yet another employer for those on board :

The Americans were contractors for the U.S. military's Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. government officials said in Washington.

Television station KVOA in Tucson, Az. had a bit more information on Mr. Powers:

Incorporation papers listed AAS Inc. of Hampton, Ga., as the incorporator for One Leasing. Ronald B. Powers, the president of AAS, told The Associated Press that the people leasing the plane asked him not to reveal their identities.

Eventually CNN determined who rented the plane (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/02/14/colombia.plane)

The Cessna was contracted by the U.S. Defense Department, officials of the U.S. Southern Command told CNN.

It may be the plane was rented by the DOD, but those in the plane may have had a different employer (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2786171.stm)

Washington is refusing to provide any information on the identity or the jobs of the kidnapped men. But US embassy sources said they were part of the Office of Regional Administration, which they indicated was a CIA front.

http://www.lazygranch.com/basecampsro.htm