Questioning Colombian Hostage Liberation.....As if...

Talk about trying very hard to rain on a parade..

Some on the very goofy left - including the usual Chavistas and FARC fellow travellers, are now claiming that the helicopter rescue of hostages was in fact "staged", that a ransom was paid...

it's clear that the official story has begun to unravel and will require some serious PR airbrushing to keep from falling apart altogether. It's looking more and more like the whole farce was concocted by Uribe

The "evidence"??? Well mostly FARC's own claim that Cesar (hostage "security" guy) was bribed with $20 million bucks. Not quite the Secretariat getting millions for their 4 most valuable and high profile hostage.

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME....

EVEN IF..Cesar was FLIPPED for $20,000,000.00 chalk one up for Colombian intelligence. For the price of roughly 3 military choppers, military intelligence was able to reach the very security chief for the FARC's high-value hostages and get him to turn on his comrades. Not to mention get him to go to the landing zone with the hostages, surrounded by literally hundreds of men who would kill him and the captives without hesitation should news of his defection leak out.
that is...unless the Colombians also bribed just about every FARC fighter in the immediate vicinity of the pickup point.

At the very least there were a heck of a lot of fooled FARC fighters around that helicopter.

So basically the spin from these idiots at best shows that Colombia's intelligence and special operations personel penetrated a notoriously tight terrorist organization and bribed a top operative to betray the organization and release its most valuable and protected hostages. And mounted a succesful rescue mission that publically humiliated the terrorists.

Seems like a bigtime success..

Some people are just sore losers.

Bolivian Oil & Gas Companies / Professionals migrating to Peru

The Morales governments nationalization process - rather a reversion to majority government control of oil and gas companies has resulted in a precipitous drop in investment and production in Bolivia's once booming gas sector. Neighbor Peru has been agressively courting international partners to boost its own fledgling gas sector based around the Camisea gas fields. With much less than half of Bolivia's gas reserves it has attracted US $3 billion dollars in investment for exploration and production in hydrocarbons a staggering 10 times the $300 million for Bolivia this year.

And another effect has been a brain drain of Bolivian oil and gas professionals, skilled workers and managers to Peru where their expertise is valued highly. La Razon quotes one expert who estimates 800 top industry professionals moving to Peru to take on top managerial and technical positions. In addition, other workers have gone to Peru as employees of multinationals like Respsol YPF.

If that were not enough, several of the most experienced Bolivian companies, like Serpetbol which has have taken up shop in Peru's gas fields. That company billed nearly $60 million dollars in Peru, and employs 1000 workers.

What this exodus of experienced professionals and companies shows is Bolivia's current governments complete mismanagement of its oil and gas sector. Chasing away investors, hurts the entire national hydrocarbons industry, which includes the valuable human capital and 100 percent Bolivian service companies.
All the more glaring due to the enormous boom in price, which allows Peru to pulls in Billions of investments - as well as Bolivian expertise for much less gas than Bolivia has. Bolivia should have billions in investments, a vibrant national industry, operting at higher production levels. After nearly 3 years of Evo, it can not even comply with its Argentina and Brazil contracts. Promised Venezuelan/Russian/Iranian "investments" are more media events. I would be there are more Bolivians working in exploration in Peru, than there are Venezuelans doing the same in Bolivia.

DAYUM!!!: BETANCOURT ....US HOSTAGES FREED

way hot off the presses. The FARC's biggest captives were apparently freed in one major millitary operation - if this is for real, it will go on record as being one of the most impressive hostage rescues in history. These people were seized and held by some of the most ruthless, sophisticated, well-armed, kidnappers ever seen.

this will be a deathblow to the FARC. They just lost their best negotiating chips.

By FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press Writer 17 minutes ago

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian spies tricked leftist rebels into handing over kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors Wednesday in a daring helicopter rescue so successful that not a single shot was fired.
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Betancourt, who was seized on the campaign trail six long years ago, appeared thin but healthy as she strode down the stairs of a military plane and held her mother in a long embrace.

"Thank you for your impeccable operation," she told top military commanders. "The operation was perfect."

Eleven Colombian police and soldiers were also freed in the rescue, the most serious blow ever dealt to the 44-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which considered the four hostages their most valuable bargaining chips. The FARC is already reeling from the deaths of key commanders a

nd the loss of much of the territory it once held.