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."
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team’s victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday, with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state’s chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final on Tuesday night. However, the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra calling it “absolutely heartrending.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS