Bogota hit by deadly blasts during inauguration

[Chao]

The following is a partial excerpt:

August 7, 2002

Posted: 5:18 PM EDT (2118 GMT)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Explosions rocked Colombia's capital Wednesday as Alvaro Uribe was sworn in as president of this troubled Latin American country, and witnesses said at least 10 people were killed.

Three blasts shook the area around the parliament building minutes before Uribe took the oath of office from Senate leader Luis Alfredo Ramos inside. Witnesses reported seeing at least 10 bodies, barely five blocks from parliament, laying in the street and in a house in the poor Cartucho neighborhood.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosions. To avert any rebel assassination plots, Uribe had forgone the traditional outdoor ceremony in Bogota's colonial central plaza and instead took the oath of office in parliament. Uribe is promising a crackdown on leftist rebels as he takes command of South America's most troubled country.

Army troops quickly sealed off the Cartucho neighborhood after the explosions. There was no immediate official comment.

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Since this story went to the wire, CNN has reported that 17 people are now dead.

chao

Chao, thanks for the report. My source has told me things are gonna get worse before they improve. Most Colombian vets know the score and what to do and what not to do to be somewhat safe. To the newbies, read the posts and search the archives about safety. Before any trip to any latin country, check the latest news about it. When I was in Locolombia in 2001, I watched CNN everyday. I bought the local paper. (It's El Pais in Cali). When my Spanish failed me a bit, I got help from my English-speaking Colombian friends to help me with the translations. Although I didn't seek a "connected" colombiano americano, he found me. Luckily, he liked me and didn't want to kidnap me. He told a few things about the rebels and personal safety such as the rebel bombing of cities that will intensify somewhat for a year after this election, then hopefully subside. Most of us gringos stand out so a bad guy or group could set you up if you let your guard down too much. When I was in Cali, I wasn't paranoid, just cautious. By the way, newbies, don't expect your date to keep you nor herself from potential danger. I later found out the resort just outside of Cali wasn't really safe during the day. My colombian friends told me AFTER I returned. The military patrols should have been a clue. I left Colombia in April 2001 - just a week before bombs went off in Medellin and one in Cali. I will return to Colombia in a year or 2 if the violence subsides enough so I can feel I can deal with it. Paz. Kev

[In the Know 2]

I hope this man Uribe can do something but I still feel that Colombia will never have some type of stable peace until 20,000 U.S troops arrive with a carrier task force sitting off each coast. There are some 300 families involved in the drug trade, FARC and ELN leftist guerillas among 11 at one time. The autodefensas and a society split by the rich aristocrats in the cities and the poor of the countryside....I hope I am wrong but as far as I am concerned only Washington can and could put an end to this...

My contact, who I know is in the know, said he hopes the US troops would land in Locolombia and wipe out the terrorism. In by-the-way conversations, I discretly asked a few Colombian friends what they thought. They thought the American troops coming in to shed our blood for their country was a good idea. I didn't ask a whole lot of people down there to get an accurate sampling. Anyway, it seems the US (with our good ally, Britian) are ending up being the policemen of the world. I don't think the Brits would join us in a Colombian invasion. (the US Monroe Doctrine and for a relatively small country they're tied up in Afghanistan and other parts of the world.) It seems we are destined to be world cops. It sucks. The UN is a joke. When there's trouble in the world, who else ya gonna call? The US Terror Busters. Kev

[Bill123]

Sure looks like we will continue to have a perennial testing ground for new U.S. weapons!!

[Lostagain]

The headline in Cali's El Pais today (Sunday) says, "Conflicto llega a las ciudades." The article goes on to say that the FARC had been planning the attack in Bogota during Uribe's swearing in for the last 6 months. The military has been trying to break up the net of autonomous cells of the FARC which are operating in the cities. More attacks are expected in the immediate future. If you come here for a visit, don't linger around possible targets such as police and government buildings, hope you don't get caught in a non-gov. reten on the highways, and keep a low profile. With some precautions, you should not have any problems, but remember this war is very real, though in the cities it has been a remote reality (with some notable exceptions) until recently.

Reality and In the Know have been talking to different Colombians than the ones I know here and the point of view they report on is not held by everyone. The Colombians I know don't think that bringing in US troops is such a good idea. Colombia doesn't have a manpower shortage for their army. They have a huge supply of draft age young men, many of whom I see lined up waiting to join every morning I pass by the Third Brigade Army Base. Their problem is financial -- they don't have the dough to buy the helicoptors, train the pilots, clothe and train the troops, engage in reform of social problems, etc.... and then there is always the corruption issue. Every Colombian I have talked to cites corruption as the number one problem when it comes to defeating the FARC.

In the long run, there are no simple answers to this tragically complex problem. If the Colombians can't solve it themselves, it ain't going to get solved.

Lost Again in Cali.

[Bill123]

But since they just enacted a state of emergency today, to last 90 days, they have put together a tax program to tax the "rich" and get the money.