The FARC brought down a small, unmanned spy plane they say was being used to
track insurgent activities in the mountainous eastern part of the
country, the FARC-friendly ANNCOL website said Wednesday.
The website also published photographs of the propeller-driven craft.
ANNCOL did not say how or when the plane was brought down.
The government of President Álvaro Uribe has received billions of
dollars in U.S. aid used to drive the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, out of the cities and away from highways, resulting
in a sharp decrease in crime.
“You, dear readers, draw your own conclusions about the intensity of
the Colombian conflict and all the techniques possible for gathering
intelligence in the jungles and mountains,” the website said. “Uribe
and his gang in Bogota cannot be trusted.”
Colombia is not known to have unmanned spy planes. U.S. military aid
includes assistance in intelligence gathering and operations planning.
The website suggested that the plane was being used to find out
where the FARC plans to release six hostages, including two politicians
and four members of the state security forces, who the rebels have
promised to free in the coming weeks.
An anonymous military official told website Terra Colombia the claim was “absurd” and said the photo didn’t show a real plane.
The FARC holds hundreds of hostages for ransom and as political bargaining chips in its decades-old war against the state. (Reuters / Colombia Reports)