Colombia's defense minister said on Sunday that an Ecuadorean was killed during Colombia's controversial March 1 raid on a rebel camp across the border in Ecuador.
Ecuador briefly mobilized troops to its border with Colombia in the wake of the attack that killed top Colombian rebel commander Raul Reyes and 25 others. Confirmation of the Ecuadorean death threatened to revive tensions between the Andean neighbors that still have not renewed diplomatic relations.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said one of two bodies brought to Colombia after the attack belonged to an Ecuadorean he identified only by the nom de guerre "Lucho."
The Ecuadorean's body was initially identified as that of a Colombian rebel troubadour, alias Julian Conrado, and brought back to the Colombian capital of Bogota with Reyes' body.
PHOTOS
Relatives of a missing Ecuadorean locksmith say they have seen news photos that indicate the body is that of their son. The family of Franklin Aizalia planned to travel to Bogota as soon as yesterday in a bid to confirm the body's identity.
On Saturday, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa threatened to launch a new diplomatic offensive against Colombia if DNA tests confirm that Colombian forces killed an Ecuadorean citizen.
Santos on Sunday urged Ecuadorean authorities not to act rashly.
"To President Correa and Ecuadorean authorities: Be careful with letting yourselves act impetuously on behalf of criminals," the defense minister told reporters while attending an unrelated military funeral. "Take care and corroborate with your own authorities the identities of people."
Santos said Colombian military investigations suggest Lucho was romantically involved with Nubia Calderon, alias Esperanza, who allegedly served as a public ambassador in Ecuador to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The minister called the Colombian raid on the FARC camp a "legitimate act of war."
FORCEFUL
Correa previously said he would urge the Organization of American States (OAS) to "act forcefully" if tests confirm that Colombia killed an Ecuadorean citizen, saying he did not want a precedent set in the region.
Over the weekend, the office of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe issued a statement calling Reyes' camp "a place of terrorists," but vowed to adhere to any decisions of the OAS, which is investigating the cross-border raid.
Tensions over the raid were largely defused at a regional summit in the Dominican Republic days after the attack, but Correa has yet to return his ambassador to Bogota.
Four Mexican university students and a Colombian soldier were among those who died in the raid.
Uribe, a close US ally, says documents seized at the camp from Reyes' computer show that the FARC gave money to Correa's 2006 presidential campaign. He also claims Correa's ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, planned to give the rebels US$300 million.
Correa says he has requested the documents, which he said lack "technical and legal" validity.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS