Out of Captivity : Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

Caribe 193there was that the more heat the FARC felt, the more it trickled downto us, and obviously rescue operations meant that we were in danger ofbeing executed. In fact, a few days after we heard Uribe’s remarks, theFARC issued a communiqué that stated they would execute prisonersin the event of a rescue operation.We felt like insignificant pawns in an enormous chess match involvingthe U.S. and Colombia. Along with that, Colombia’s regional politicsalways played a part in our safety. The politicals filled us in on theactivities of an organization we’d heard of but had not really paid muchattention to—the Group of Friends. The U.S., Brazil, Chile, Spain,Mexico, and Portugal all sent representatives to that body. Those representativeshad been meeting with representatives of the Organizationof American States (OAS) to see what could be done about whatour Colombian politicians referred to as the “Venezuelan issue.” Venezuelanpresident Hugo Chávez had not attended several scheduledbargaining sessions to help resolve several matters in the region. Thepoliticals all seemed as concerned about Chávez and his role as wewere about President Bush and Congress.Marc, Keith, and I talked among ourselves about Chávez and the roleVenezuela might have been playing in Colombia and how that affectedus. The military-type clothing we received all had “Made in Venezuela”labels sewn into them, and we suspected that the FARC were receivingother additional supplies from Venezuela as well. While we couldn’tsay for certain that the Venezuelan government was providing all thisfor the FARC’s use, the facts certainly seemed to point in that direction.Chávez stood to gain from the FARC’s conflict with Colombia.The more Uribe was tied up fighting terrorists in his own country, theless he was challenging Chávez for regional military supremacy andinfluence.Furthermore, it was clear that the FARC had a shared affection forChávez. We had to endure a lot of propagandizing from the FARC, andthey had spoken openly about their admiration for Chávez. In the eyes