"For them, what is going on is a war"

Sergio Omar Calderón blames the Colombian Popular Liberation Army for his kidnapping. Sergio Omar Calderón, opposition leader and former governor of southwestern Táchira State, who was kidnapped during 29 days and was rescued last Friday, has ruled out a political motivation is his abduction. However, he warned his captors were young Venezuelan and Colombian peasants, under 30 years, with a deep social resentment and determined to fight their battle. As to the education level and ideology of his captors, Calderón declared that they had not a high education level. A noticeable aspect was their military style. For them, what is going on is a war. Calderón added he would not investigate much on this topic. “Sometimes we argued about guerrillas in the 60s, and I told them that those people had a Marxist culture. I believe that in my case we are talking about peasants who feel displaced and are determined to fight their battle.” Calderón added: “I could not tell they are common criminals. They showed a deep hatred against Colombian businessmen, and I told them that anybody can fight a battle, but in a democratic way, as it is the case in Venezuela. They responded that war could hit us (Venezuelans) in any time.” Full Story