President Alvaro Uribe announced a new offensive on leftist rebel leaders, as Bogota police said they thwarted a hospital bombing. Uribe said that Colombian forces are “prepared to go after” leaders of the 17,000-strong Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). “With the strength of democracy and aggressive public forces, we will take them on and defeat them so that Colombia is free of the guerrillas,” he said at a ceremony commissioning an anti-guerrilla brigade in the town of Villavicencio, southeast of Bogota. The 1,300-strong brigade will operate in areas where the FARC leaders are believed to be hiding, Uribe said. Uribe’s predecessor, Andres Pastrana, held direct talks with the FARC leaders aimed at ending their four decade-long insurgency. Talks however broke down in February 2002, and Uribe has since taken a hard-line towards the rebels. Meanwhile in Bogota, police announced the arrest of five suspects they said planned to attack a military hospital with a car bomb. The suspects are also believed to be responsible for the February 7 car bombing that devastated an elite Bogota social club, killing 36 and injuring more than 170. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.