Paraguay rebel crackdown sees little success

[naaman fletcher]

It is an uneven contest: 25 men and women being pursued by a force of 3,300.

The former are reputed members of a group on the run in the forests and hills of northern Paraguay, while the latter are troops and police in a race against the clock to try and capture at least some of the country's "most wanted".

The Paraguayan People's Army (PPA or EPP in Spanish) has been described as a dangerous criminal gang responsible for kidnappings and murders.

But the group has also been characterised as a left-wing rebel outfit bent on "shoot and kill" in response to the socio-economic injustices in a country where some 50% of the population lives in poverty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10133207.stm

Paraguay elected and excellent leftists President, yet the Marxists are conducting a murderous rebellion anyway. Hopefully the Green Party candidate will win in Colombia, but don't expect FARC to stop it's activities if he does.