Civil Liberties: Ashcroft Threatens "Allies" of FARC

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Ashcroft Chopping Away at Civil Liberties

[Ashcroft is getting ready to try something very ugly from the sound
of it - indict FARC "allies." No clarification on what constitutes an
"indictable ally." From the sound of this piece on the wires, the
indictees are going to be in the US.  The AP is going right along,
calling the latest hits at the Bill of Rights "striking a blow
against a terrorist threat," failing to even mention the CIA's own
history of cocaine running and trading guns for drugs.]


AP - April 30, 2002 11:32 am ET

Colombia Rebel Allies Face Charges

by the Associated Press

WASHINGTON, April 30 (AP) -- Striking a blow against a terrorist
threat outside the Arab world, federal prosecutors are seeking
indictments against a handful of supporters of the Colombian rebel
group known as FARC, officials said Tuesday.

Attorney General John Ashcroft planned to announce the indictments
later Tuesday, officials told The Associated Press, speaking only on
condition of anonymity. Ashcroft has increasingly sought to use U.S.
anti-terrorism efforts against the world's largest drug traffickers
as another way to stem the flow of cash and weapons to terrorists.

Prosecutors were seeking charges of conspiracy to commit murder
against the supporters and members of the leftist rebel group that
has kidnapped hundreds and stepped up violence in Colombia since
peace talks with the government there broke down, officials said.

Ashcroft has said previously that members of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, or FARC, have killed 13 Americans since 1980 and
kidnapped more than a hundred others, including three U.S.
missionaries in 1993 who are believed to have been killed.

The indictments were being sought in Washington, the officials said.

FARC frequently has been implicated in cocaine drug running that
affects the United States, U.S.  officials have said.

The rebel group is estimated to have 17,000 members and is one of
three main rebel groups involved in Colombia's long strife

 
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nytsa-04.30.02-14:18:08-6796