The Ecuadorian journalists from El Universo were in the area covering The offensive is taking the form of a classic military tactic; the "hammer Here in Ecuador, people are understandably nervous, as it is increasingly The Ecuadorians are in a no-win situation. If their army does step up According to the article, one of the six passengers on this inter provincial After the pilot bid goodbye and got off the bus, and even stranger conversation He (the pilot) repeated that his activities were among the most noble While he talked, two rows from where he sat another passenger, roughly Two hours later, the pilot said goodbye and descended from the bus when "What is the capital of Ecuador?" he asked with an innocent expression. Soon, he began to feel trust and confidence in the reporter, and opened As a result he decided to learn to manufacture car batteries, and opened Actually, he revealed a few minutes later, the manufacture of batteries "The fumigation destroyed everything, including our health. I got very The real reason behind his trip, he revealed, was to scout out possible At this point he consulted another another passenger in the same row, "Oh yeah, they are very good, and further on there are even better ones Hearing this news, the first coca farmer turned his attention to Jaime, Finally they agreed to do some business. And the first farmer from El Universo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An interesting article appeared today in the Universo, considered the most reliable and authoratative newspaper in Ecuador. Actually it is more a sort of bizarre vignette, told by the members of a "team" from the paper (most probably the author … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/univbuss.jpg\")
An interesting article appeared today in the Universo<\/a>,
\n considered the most reliable and authoratative newspaper in Ecuador. Actually
\n it is more a sort of bizarre vignette, told by the members of a "team"
\n from the paper (most probably the author of the article and a photographer),
\n of a bus trip from Florencia to Mocoa, in the District of Chaqueta in
\n the the Province of Putamayo in southern Colombia. It is a jungly
\n region along a major Amazonian tributary, the Putamayo River, near the
\n Ecuadorian border and notable both as a major coca-producing region and
\n one of the strongholds of the leftist guerillas known as the Fuerzas
\n Armados Revolcionarios de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
\n or FARC).<\/p>\n
\n the ongoing "Plan Patriota," which is a major military offensive against
\n the guerillas on the part of the government of colombian President Alvaro
\n Uribe, who unlike previous presidents who tried to negotiate with the
\n "Revolutionary Armies," to the point of ceding them
\n a "liberated zone" the size of Switzerland, has concluded they are really
\n just a cover for drug production and smuggling as well as an affront
\n to the sovereignty of the country, has vowed to liquidate them and reassert
\n control over 100% of his national territory.<\/p>\n
\n and anvil". The hammer is a massive movement of Colombia’s
\n finest military units, equipped with US supplied armored personnel carriers
\n and Blackhawk helicopters, driving the militants through the dense jungle
\n towards the Ecuadorian border.<\/p>\n
\n obvious that the Colombian army is expecting the Ecuadorians to be the
\n "anvil",
\n trapping the guerillas with their backs to the river which forms the
\n border, sitting ducks for the firepower of the two legitimate armies.
\n However, both governments vehemently deny that this is the plan, the
\n Colombians claiming that their units stationed along the Colombian side
\n of the border are sufficient to make an effective anvil. Most independent
\n experts doubt this.<\/p>\n
\n and act as the anvil, they risk being dragged into a messy military quagmire
\n which has been going on for decades, fueled by billions in drug money
\n and the Colombians historical penchant for bloody conflict and martial
\n savagery. If they decline to protect the entire length of the affected
\n border, they risk the nightmare of thousands of heavily armed, hard-core
\n guerillas pouring into their country, where they can easily melt into
\n the Ecuadorian corner of the Amazon River basin. Once they get away from
\n the border area and into the deep jungle they would be almost impossible
\n to root out.<\/p>\n
\n bus just happened to be one of the American-trained Blackhawk helicopter
\n pilots, and coincidently one who was an Ecuadorian by origin, having
\n changed nationality specifically for the opportunity to participate in
\n the war
\n against the Communist guerillas and drug traffickers. Upon seeing the
\n reporters badges and press credentials, which identified them as Ecuadorians,
\n he began waxing nostalgic and asking them about familiar lairs and events
\n in Guayaquil, mixing his reminisces with war stories,including graphic
\n descriptions of bombing runs and spectacular crashes, showing his scars,
\n and political commentaries. <\/p>\n
\n took place with another of the few passengers on the bus. Following
\n are translated excerpts from the article, which reveal a window onto
\n the realities of a third-world country at war with itself and the difficulty
\n of winning the war on drugs.<\/p>\n\n
\n possible, as their aim is to reestablish peace in Colombia. He was convince
\n that the day would soon come when Colombia’s civil war would end, and
\n praised the actions of President Uribe.<\/p>\n
\n dressed in a torn tank top, frayed pants and worn, stained shoes, was
\n closely following the conversation. <\/p>\n
\n it arrived in Mocoa. A few minutes later this passenger, dressed as a
\n poor campasino, picked up a conversation with the reporter who had been
\n questioning the pilot.<\/p>\n
\n As the conversation continued his enthusiasm to learn about the possibility
\n of moving to Ecuador became increasingly obvious, and he asked about
\n Ecuadorian living conditions, what documents were needed to immigrate,
\n and the degree of poverty.<\/p>\n
\n up. He became more loquacious and fluent, and his feigned naivitee
\n disappeared. He revealed that he was the owner of two houses in
\n Florencia and a coca plantation in San Vincente de Chaqueta, part of
\n the former "liberated zone" controlled by the FARC, although his plantation
\n had been destroyed by the US-sponsored ariel fumigations recently effected
\n in the area to destroy the Coca crop.<\/p>\n
\n a small factory in a small town in Chaqueta. This, he said, was allowing
\n him to survive now that his plantation was wiped out.<\/p>\n
\n was just a front allowing him to hide the cocaine which he still sells.<\/p>\n
\n sick for three weeks. What the government is trying to do won’t work,
\n because we are all enmeshed in the business. Things are bad now in Chaqueta
\n because the government is attacking everybody…."<\/p>\n
\n locations for a new plantation of coca, which became the central topic
\n of the conversation. He was concentrating his search in Putamayo, or
\n another town in southern Colombia, Llorenti, known as "little Putamayo"
\n because it was attracting coca farmers from around Colombia whose plantations
\n had been destroyed by the fumigations.<\/p>\n
\n by the name of "Jaime", . "Amigo, is that area good for growing?"<\/p>\n
\n in the Tingo Maria area, right along the highway." he answered.<\/p>\n
\n and they began a intense conversation about the variations in the
\n price of a gram of cocaine, methods of its production, the cost
\n per hectare of appropriate land (about half a million pesos, equivalent
\n to $200),
\n different types of seeds, the best processing materials like cement,
\n uric acid, lime, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.<\/p>\n
\n confided to Jaime that his current business as a battery manufacturer
\n was a perfect cover for hiding and transporting the finished product,
\n and that each battery he was transporting held 17 kilos of cocaine
\n (37 pounds), which was the perfect amount to move at a time without
\n any problems
\n at
\n all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n