Rodrigo Granda is a leading operative in Colombia's oldest rebel group, a man who for years roamed the world drumming up support for his organization, with Colombia's government in hot pursuit.
Yet, for two years before his capture last month in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, he lived comfortably in a two-story house in this picturesque mountain community that is a weekend retreat for Venezuelan army generals, Caracas businessmen and well-off retirees. He came and went freely, ordering construction supplies for his home and frolicking in his pool while still serving as the "foreign minister" for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the authorities in Bogota, Colombia, say. In fact, he had enjoyed the privileges of Venezuelan citizenship and had voted in a recent election.
The revelations about Granda's apparently breezy day-to-day life in Venezuela and the murky operation that led to his capture in Caracas have led to the most serious diplomatic crisis between neighbors who are ideological opposites: the leftist Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez and the conservative Colombian administration of President Alvaro Uribe.
The dispute has drawn in the Bush administration, which on Jan. 15 threw its support behind Uribe, Washington's closest ally in Latin America. Then on Tuesday in her Senate confirmation hearing, Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state-designate, said that Venezuela's government had been a "negative" force in the region while stifling the opposition at home.
"We are very concerned about a democratically elected leader who governs in an illiberal way, and some of the steps he's taken against the media, against the opposition, I think are really very deeply troubling," Rice said at the hearing.
The comments drew an angry rebuke from Chavez's government, which in August won a landslide election that reinforced Chavez's mandate. The Bush administration's strident opposition has appeared to end any chance that the US could play a role in resolving any crisis involving Chavez's government.
This week, Brazil demonstrated its growing diplomatic assertiveness after announcing that its left-leaning president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is close to Uribe and Chavez, would mediate the crisis.
Chavez's government accused Colombia of having bribed a group of Venezuelan National Guardsmen to arrest Granda on Dec. 13. Saying that Colombia had violated Venezuelan sovereignty, Chavez recalled his ambassador to Bogota, suspended accords and demanded an apology.
Colombia responded defiantly, issuing a presidential bulletin saying it had the right to offer rewards leading to the capture of Colombian rebels, wherever they might hide. Colombia also turned over the names of rebels it says often seek refuge in Venezuela. On Friday, Venezuela said it would investigate.
Colombia said it issued an international arrest warrant for Granda more than a year ago, yet he had been so nonchalant about security that in early December he openly attended two conferences of leftists in Venezuela.
Venezuela says it was never alerted about Granda and contends that his citizenship papers were fraudulent.
Here in Las Mercedes de Tasajera, about two hours southwest of Caracas, residents, local residents remember Granda simply as the Colombian, a man who was not averse to meeting and talking to his neighbors but who revealed little about himself.
"He talked to a lot of people," said Daniel Lopez, a retired businessman who has lived here for 30 years. "He was very courteous, very educated, but also quiet about his ways."
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS