AP. 17 September 2001. Colombia Rebel Chief Blasts U.S. BOGOTA -- Colombia's top rebel chieftain accused the United States on Monday of meddling with his country's internal affairs by sending "hundreds of military advisers and mercenaries." Manuel Marulanda, head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, also warned that peace talks with the government will collapse if President Andres Pastrana forces the FARC to give up a Switzerland-sized safe haven he ceded to the rebels in southern Colombia. Marulanda, in a letter posted on the FARC's Internet site, said the peace talks "will be over and not even the next president will have an open door" should Pastrana send his troops into the 16,200-square-mile zone he granted the rebels in an effort to boost the peace process. The United States is pumping $1.3 billion in military aid to Colombia. Up to 800 U.S. military personnel and civilians contracted by the State Department are allowed in Colombia at one time under restrictions imposed by Congress. Green Berets have been training Colombian troops. ------------------------------------------- Macdonald Stainsby Rad-Green List: Radical anti-capitalist environmental discussion. http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green ---- Leninist-International: Building bridges in the tradition of V.I. Lenin. http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international ---- In the contradiction lies the hope. --Bertholt Brecht _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
