Nicaragua
Hugo Chavez Has Plans to Invade Colombia
Feb 4th
Hugo Chavez, president and dictator of Venezuela, claims to be the reincarnation of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of a large swath of South America in the 19th century. His pseudo-socialist Bolivarian revolution aims to restore the glory of the Gran Colombia, a republic which briefly encompassed present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama as well as parts of other countries. Chavez has repeatedly said that Venezuela and Colombia are one country.
Soon came the revelation that Chavez and his accomplices, Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, had concocted a plan to invade Colombia from three sides. Ecuador would enter from the south, Nicaragua via the Caribbean, and Venezuela from the east. The plan, code-named Guaicaipuro, aimed to quickly encircle Bogota, Colombia’s capital, and topple president Alvaro Uribe’s government. FARC, the main Colombian rebel group was also enlisted for the attack, and would likely have participated in a new regional government. It’s been demonstrated beyond any doubt that Venezuela and Ecuador actively supported the FARC, supplying them with arms and important sums of money, as well as guaranteeing them safe passage through their territories.
Guaicaipuro is no longer a viable invasion plan since one of its key participants, Ecuador, has mysteriously done an about face and dropped its hostile policy towards Colombia and is no longer echoing Chavez’ demented rhetoric. I say “mysteriously” but the probable scenario is that president Correa was persuaded to change course by the threat that a mountain of evidence implicating him with the FARC, and possibly other scandals, would be publicized if he didn’t change course. A lot of the evidence in question could have come from the many computers found in FARC encampments captured by Colombian armed forces (with covert US assistance), including one inside Ecuador.
That one plan is dead doesn’t mean that there isn’t another either already hatched or on the drawing board. Chavez has been making major purchases to refurbish his military, using the country’s abundant petrodollars, and has consistently sought to provoke an incident along Venezuela’s border with Colombia. At one point, he even announced that his country was preparing for war with its neighbor. Chavez poses a grave danger to regional stability and particularly to Colombia, and whether his grip on Venezuela strengthens or weakens, the threat remains very real. It’s very plausible to envision Chavez using his favorite scapegoat, Colombia, to distract public attention from the disastrous policies at home. Inventing a Colombian-American attack against Venezuelan territory sounds ludicrous, but history is full of fabricated wars, and history does tend to repeat itself! Add to that the very eccentric nature of Chavez, the man who told the world he admires Idi Amin Dada, the dictator who terrorized Uganda for 8 years, and Carlos the Jackal, the 1970′s international terrorist, and has made alliances with rogue state Iran as well as Russia.
As the United States’ most important ally in South America, Colombia feels more secure in the shadow of the world’s largest military, as its own forces are woefully unprepared for a full scale armed conflict. One of the most dissuasive tactics used by Colombia against its belligerent neighbor has been the recent treaty with the USA, authorizing them to use seven military bases deep inside its territory. Recently, a leak revealed the treaty as a subterfuge which Colombia demanded from Washington in order to create the illusion of a tight military association. The reality is that should Venezuela do the unthinkable and invade Colombian soil, it is by no means certain that US troops would intervene directly. The US is busy with two costly and unpopular conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as wrestling with the aftermath of the worst recession in 60 years, thus starting another war would probably not win many votes. This doesn’t preclude a “remote control” intervention via the air and sea, a military policy that was used effectively during the Clinton administration.
Hugo Chavez isn’t going away and he’s ready to destroy his country and the entire region as well before ceding any power. US congress voting to place Venezuela on the list of states sponsoring terrorism was a necessary and correct move, but it won’t do much to change history: the US may eventually have no choice but to launch a full scale war in its backyard if this strongman isn’t stopped soon. The sense we have here, within Colombia, is one of a clear and present danger.
5 Reasons To Live And Travel Abroad In Central America – Costa Rica, Panama
Feb 2nd
After nearly a decade of an on again off again romance with Central America, I have finally decided to plant some roots here and settle down, at least for now.
Why here? I spent my eighth grade year in Costa Rica, attending middle school. During that time, I made an excellent group of friends who I’ve stayed in touch with throughout the years. In part, because each summer following that first full year, I returned to Costa Rica to work.
To gain a more worldly perspective, during College I spent a short-term semester in Nicaragua as well as a short-term semester in Spain. While the architecture and lifestyle of Spain is charming, there is also a snobbish and cold underside to the culture there that I never could shake. My host family was friendly, but not overly so. At one point they stopped feeding my roommate and me because they said we ate too much. This wasn’t a huge problem, we simply bought more food for ourselves. I’m not a complainer. While living with the family, our only meal together was during lunch, and rather than practicing my Spanish skills, we sat in front of the television and watched Formula One racing. Again, at the time I didn’t complain, but I was a tad jealous of other student’s whose host families took an interest in them. Yet, in a surprising turn of events, my host family took us out for our last meal. When they finally began asking me questions, such as “where did you learn Spanish?” they were shocked to find out that I had lived and worked in Costa Rica and that, in fact, my brother owned a travel agency. Later that night, my host brother, who was thirty-five and still lived at home, who also put a layer of mayo an inch thick on his toasted bread at every meal, informed me that he had already emailed my brother about a vacation.
This trip greatly contrasted to my short-term in Nicaragua. I can’t say that it is class differences that made my Nicaraguan family more sweet and caring, because that simply isn’t true. While my family in Nicaragua was quite poor, the attitude of Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans is simply a more amiable one than of the Spaniards I encountered. This is just my personal experience and I’m sure there are a lot of nice Spaniards out there. However, maybe it’s the physical geography, the smells in the air, I’m not quite sure what it is, but the Latin people are more at ease with life.
So why am I planting my roots here?
1. The weather- I’m a self diagnosed member of the S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder), while I enjoy seasonal changes, being from the Northeast, I can’t deal with excessive amounts of cold and gloomy weather. Here in Costa Rica we have the rainy season and dry season. It’s nice to have stable weather that never gets too cold. I enjoy the rain as it makes the earth smell fresh and alive, and only lasts for a short while (twenty minutes to an hour-ish) a few times a week.
2. I’m the minority- I like being the new kid in town, and while I’m certainly not, as I’ve been here for a long time and there are many other gringos about, I do feel like I bring a unique perspective to life here.
I am constantly amused, some times annoyed, by how things work here, or don’t work. I just take it easy and enjoy the crazy ride.
3. The People- For the most part, everyone is nice here. Obviously, I can’t be ignorant to think that I wouldn’t get taken advantage of because I’m a gringa, or because there aren’t bad people here too. However, there’s a childish kind of charm to Costa Rica and the general attitude here that I hope never changes. The general populace also drives like teenagers here too, so watch out.
4. The food- que comida mas rica…I miss rice and beans or gallo pinto, when I’m away. I miss fresh fish and delicious chicken and ceviche. I suppose these are foods that could be purchased or made anywhere, but they just don’t taste as good as when you’re on the porch of a funky little restaurant, in the mountains or beach, enjoying a sunny day and taking in the environment.
5. The Geography- beaches, mountains and all so very different with in a short flight or few hours drive. Not to mention, we’re right in between Nicaragua and Panama, which also offer vast amounts of diverse climate/geography/and cultural exploration.
