July 29, 2008

OSPAAAL providing cover for FARC

I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to assemble the pieces of the puzzle, but will provide a starting point and a bit of context.

Starting point: María Remedios García Albert, an employee of OSPAAAL recently arrested in Spain and described as the commander of FARC in Spain. I recommend starting with news reports out of Spain, rather than the derivative English-language reports.

Context: FARC is a designated Terrorist organization that has been trying for decades - without success, but with much bloodshed - to overthrow the government of Columbia. OSPAAAL is leftover from the Cold War, an NGO based in Havana, created in 1965 with the explicit purpose of uniting the forces of the Soviet Bloc with those of various guerrilla and terrorist organizations active around the world at that time. In addition to its multi-faceted support for FARC, OSPAAAL is also a big fan of Hugo Chavez. Until the arrest of García Albert, OSPAAAL had fallen into obscurity, its legacy amounting to not much more than a large collection of lurid propaganda posters and the enduring mystery of the disappearance and presumed death under less-than-pleasant circumstances of founder Mehdi Ben Barka. The latter issue indicates that once upon a time OSPAAAL was considered a high-quality target. As for the former, I offer up a little "poster" of my own:


NEXT!

Posted on 29 July 2008 @ 14:17 GMT