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Posts Tagged ‘terrorism’

Evo denies relationship with ETA

2:03 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bolivia| Politics| Spain · Comments Off

26 Jan 2007

Bolivian president Evo Morales is denying ties to the Basque separatist group ETA, responsible for last month’s bombing of a Madrid airport parking lot and the deaths of over 800 people since 1968. The statement was in response to allegations by a Spanish newspaper that the group was seeking sanctuary in Bolivia:

The Spanish newspaper El Correo had reported that a lawmaker from Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism party visited the Basque heartland in June and met with members of Batasuna, ETA’s political arm.

The lawmaker, Feliciano Vegamonte, did not respond to repeated attempts to reach him Tuesday.

A day earlier, he confirmed to a Bolivian TV station that he made the trip and met with “people from social movements” but was not aware of any ETA ties.

El Correo said that with Cuban leader Fidel Castro ailing, ETA fears it could lose the lone country that offers it sanctuary. So it is looking toward Bolivia as a possible alternative. The paper quoted unnamed Spanish security officials as its sources.

Morales stated that in the past he has been linked to the FARC, and that these allegations were also unfounded.

Via / CNN

Ecuadorean terror victims will get Spanish citizenship

1:08 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Ecuador| Immigration| Spain · Comments Off

3 Jan 2007

Spain was rocked Saturday by a bombing at Terminal 4 of Madrid’s international airport, Barajas, in what looks to be the end of a truce between ETA and the Spanish government. Two of the victims in the attack were Ecuadorean immigrants, and now Spain is promising to grant the family members of the missing Spanish citizenship:

López Aguilar [Labor and Justice Minister] reminded the victims’ families that “the first time that terrorism hit foreign residents in Spain was with the March 11th attacks,” and that in this as well as that event the government “will do everything to make sure the family members receive Spanish citizenship.”

“The two missing men are being searched for with insistence and in an effort that will not stop,” he said.

Alberto Gonzales: “We need to explain ourselves”

12:43 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · PR| Politics| Spain| World · Comments Off

25 Oct 2006

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is in Madrid this week attending an anti-terrorism work group, and had a few things to say about the United States’ image in Europe and what needs to be done about it.

He blamed the country’s deteriorating image on misunderstanding in Europe about what the U.S. is doing to fight terrorism.

“Part of the misunderstanding is the fault of the United States in the sense that we need to be out there more, talking about what we are doing and why,” he said.

Gonzales is talking about the U.S.’s “anti-terrorism actions” in Iraq and in other parts of the world, and how the country’s respect for rule of law is often questioned.

“The notion that the United States does not fully support the rule of law is one I find very disappointing,” Gonzales told reporters, especially given that President Bush “believes the Unites States is the leader, is a beacon of hope in the world and it’s important that our actions should reflect a total commitment to the rule of law.”

What I find disappointing is that this man is no more than a puppet for W and is spreading the same old line of “you just don’t understand us” in Europe, a place where people understand exactly what we are doing. That’s why they hate us. Saying “we know you hate us, and this is why…” isn’t going to help matters but hey, who needs allies, right?

Via / The Washington Post

U.S. Government: Evo same threat level as Bin Laden

5:04 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bolivia| Controversia| Politics · 1 Comment

6 Oct 2006

According to CBS’s 60 Minutes, Bolivian president Evo Morales is as much of threat to the U.S. as Osama Bin Laden, if we are going by whose name is on the list of passengers prohibited from boarding a plane to the U.S.:

Among the 44,000 names on the list are foreign leaders like Morales, who don’t seem all that dangerous. But there are also names of people who are already in custody or in prison, like Saddam Hussein, and even dead people. Among the dead are the majority of the 19 Al Qaeda members who participated in the September 11th attacks.

However, the list doesn’t consider the names of the most dangerous terrorists, and as CBS points out, the names of the suspects who were planning a terrorist attack on British airlines this summer are not on the list.

According to Bolivian newspaper La Razón, a member of Morales’ party and parliament member is quoted as saying that the list “reflects the intellectual mediocrity that the U.S. political class has always had.”

The 60 Minutes piece about the botched “no-fly” list will air this Sunday.

Via / El Semanal Digital and La Razón

Cuban Terrorists in Florida?

8:48 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba| Politics · 1 Comment

16 Aug 2006

There’s a really interesting article up at AlterNet today regarding the first commercial airline bombing on Oct. 6, 1976.

Cuban-American terrorists and mercenaries blew up a Cuban civilian airliner. All 73 on board went down to a fiery and gruesome death, including the teenage members of the Cuban fencing team returning from a competition in Venezuela.

The article goes on to point the finger at well known figures in the Cuban exile community in Florida, namely Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch and well known exile organizations like Alpha 66, Omega 7, Brothers To The Rescue, and Commandos L. The most disturbing thing though is that according to the article the individuals and organizations are being protected by the U.S. government.

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