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Tyler Bridges
Betancourt ally, a former hostage, flees Colombia
Former Colombian senator Luis Eladio Perez, who was freed by FARC rebels last February, fled the country for the United States on Wednesday after death threats made it clear staying in Colombia imperiled his life. ."It's a very sad situation," Perez told McClatchy from a safe house Tuesday night in Bogota. "I was just getting re-established here." | 09/12/08 20:09:12 By - Tyler Bridges
Chavez's ex-wife running as opposition mayor of Venezuelan city
Hugo Chavez has left a trail of defeated men in his wake during nearly 10 years as Venezuela's socialist president, winning three elections and surviving one recall attempt. Now his ex-wife and former first lady has emerged as what Venezuelans like to call "the pebble in his shoe." Marisabel Rodriguez is one of his most dogged critics. She's also the mother of his 10-year-old daughter. | 09/12/08 20:08:58 By - Tyler Bridges
Ex-bishop, advocate for poor, will take Paraguay's helm
The commander had a simple message: Disperse immediately or the riot police would scatter everyone with water cannons, tear gas and truncheons. The man who was leading 10,000 protesters and blocking the dirt roadway didn't flinch, however. On Friday, that man, Fernando Lugo, a former Roman Catholic bishop, will be inaugurated as Paraguay's president. | 09/12/08 20:08:38 By - Tyler Bridges
Chavez seeks to pull Paraguay's new leader into his orbit
The dusty farm town of San Pedro, where Fernando Lugo ministered to the poor as its activist, left-leaning bishop, welcomed him back Saturday as Paraguay's unlikely president with hugs, cheers and exhortations that he not fail them. But for the second day in a row, it was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who stole the show, as part of a determined effort by Chavez to tug Lugo into his political camp. | 09/12/08 20:04:04 By - Tyler Bridges
U.S. drivers look to what's in Argentina's tank: natural gas
More vehicles run on natural gas in Argentina than anywhere else in the world, and that success is attracting a burst of interest from the U.S., where a big push is under way to convert buses, taxis and cars to natural gas. | 09/12/08 20:03:51 By - Tyler Bridges
Colombia's president has a problem — his supporters are corrupt
Thirty-three members of Colombia's Congress — about 10 percent — are in prison for colluding with paramilitary groups that terrorize rural areas and control profitable cocaine-trafficking routes. Another 10 percent are under investigation, including the Senate president. The extent of the corruption has wide implications — nearly every tainted member of Congress is a strong supporter of President Alvaro Uribe, the Bush administration's strongest ally in Latin America. | 09/12/08 20:00:58 By - Tyler Bridges
Bolivia's mandate for Morales unlikely to provoke compromise with opponents
A fundamental clash between the socialist and indigenous peoples of the Andean region of Bolivia and the more entrepreneurial and racially mixed residents of the eastern lowlands paralyzed this country in 2008, and that divide seems likely to harden in the wake of Sunday's national referendum. | 08/11/08 18:56:18 By - Tyler Bridges
Now free, Betancourt shuns bitterness, seeks to heal Colombia
Ingrid Betancourt, the famed hostage of Colombia's largest guerrilla group, lived the last six years chained to trees in the jungle. She nearly died from tropical diseases that left her despondent and emaciated. Yet since her spectacular release last Wednesday, Betancourt has emerged preaching not hate and bitterness, but peace and national reconciliation for her war-weary nation. | 07/07/08 17:47:00 By - Tyler Bridges
Colombia rescue video caught hostages' first moment of joy
The hostages were unhappy by the demand that they be handcuffed — made by their rescuers who used the demand as a way to persuade guerrillas they were international aid workers. They boarded the helicopter sullenly. Then, as the helicopter was airborne and their captors overpowered, the hostages burst into cries of joy. | 07/04/08 19:51:49 By - Tyler Bridges
In Colombia, ex-hostage Betancourt's every move captures a nation
Ingrid Betancourt went from jungle captive to national heroine within a dizzying 24 hours, as Colombians hailed the newly freed hostage Thursday for her courage and her every public move was carried live on television. | 07/03/08 18:56:00 By - Tyler Bridges
Deception and infiltration helped win freedom for FARC hostages
The final stages of Operation Check-Mate began early Wednesday morning as the guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia gathered 15 of their most valuable hostages in an isolated forest of the southern province of Guaviare. | 07/03/08 19:38:00 By - Tyler Bridges and Jack Chang
Colombia rescues 15 held for years by FARC rebels
Colombia's defense minister announced Wednesday afternoon that special forces earlier that day had rescued 15 hostages whom the country's biggest guerrilla group had held for years, including three Americans and former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. | 07/02/08 16:00:00 By - Tyler Bridges
Daring rescue frees hostages from jungles of Colombia
Three American defense contractors held since 2003 by narco-guerillas in steamy jungle captivity were choppered to freedom, it was announced Wednesday, in a daring rescue operation that resembled a Hollywood action film. Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said the nation's special forces had rescued 15 hostages, including the three U.S. citizens and a former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, whose captivity had become an international cause celebre. | 07/02/08 19:37:14 By - Tyler Bridges and Kevin G. Hall
McCain, other senators praise Colombian president
John McCain and two other U.S. senators who accompanied him lavished praise on Colombian President Alvaro Uribe during a 20-hour trip here that ended Wednesday afternoon before the dramatic news that special forces had rescued 15 hostages held by anti-government guerrillas. | 07/02/08 17:57:00 By - Tyler Bridges
McCain has U.S. politics in mind as he visits Colombia, Mexico
John McCain's trip to Colombia Tuesday was part of an unusual three-day presidential campaign swing to Latin America with a dual message for voters back home. By visiting Colombia and Mexico, McCain wants to emphasize to all voters that he has stronger foreign policy credentials than Barack Obama, his Democratic rival. McCain also wants to appeal specifically to Hispanics in the United States by expressing his concern for problems in Latin America. | 07/01/08 16:45:00 By - Tyler Bridges
Drug lord's ranch becomes a theme park
The scavengers have come and gone. The lookout tower sentries have disappeared. The main house lies in ruins. And adorning one decrepit wall are three photos of the ranch's former owner and infamous drug lord. One was said to be Pablo Escobar's favorite picture. | 06/30/08 17:10:38 By - Tyler Bridges
Colombian president calls for new elections
Colombia plunged into political uncertainty Friday as opponents of President Alvaro Uribe accused him of acting like a ''dictator'' because he called for new elections that could allow him to extend his stay in office beyond the end of his current term in 2010. | 06/27/08 20:07:45 By - Tyler Bridges
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