Communiqué: Captured North-American soldier Kevin Scott Sutay

The Secretariat of the Central High Command of the FARC-EP informs to the national and international public opinion that on June 20, 2013 in the municipality Retorno, Guaviare, was captured the American soldier Kevin Scott Sutay, born in the city of New York, according to the passport no. 488667176, issued on February 3, 2012, he had with him when he was detained by guerrilla units.

The aforementioned U.S. citizen claims to have been a member of the U.S. Navy since November 17, 2009 until March 22, 2013 and by his own account he was involved in the war in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011 where he served as anti-explosives expert, specialist in demining, as part of the company 541 ST of the 54 TN engineering battalion.

His entry into Colombia was on June 8, 2013, following the route Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Bogota, San Jose del Guaviare, headquarters of the Barrancón military base, known from long ago because of its U.S. military presence.

The capture of soldier Kevin shows the active participation in the field of U.S. mercenaries in military and counter-insurgency operations in which they appear under the euphemism of contractors, a privatized form of imperial intervention forces, typical of the era of capitalist globalization, which allows them to exploit another side of the business of war, with less political cost for their campaigns of aggression and predation against the people.

Criminal business, of which President Santos, his defense minister and generals, would like to be part, announcing from the rooftops the signing of a cooperation agreement with the NATO, which positions Colombia as a provider of such mercenary forces available for intervention plans and imperial looting in every corner of the planet.

In spite of the right that assists us to keep the soldier Kevin Scott as a prisoner of war, we have taken the political decision to release him as a gesture that is part of the atmosphere of the peace talks being held in Havana with the Colombian government, to come to an agreement to end the social and armed conflict in our country.

To this end we request the integration of a humanitarian commission headed by Senator Piedad Cordoba, a delegate of the community of Saint Egidio and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Colombian jungle, July 19, 2013.

Central Secretariat of the FARC-EP.

#Colombia #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #USImperialism #KevinScottSutay #Americas

Palmera, quien fue casi secuestrado de Latino-América por el gobierno de los EE.UU, está siendo juzgado con unas acusaciones cómicas de tráfico de estupefacientes. El último juicio sobre las mismas acusaciones término en un NO VEREDICTO. Palmera es un conocido marxista que está preso en una celda de confinamiento solitario en los alrededores de Washington D.C..

Tom Burke, portavoz del CNLRP, dijó, “Ricardo Palmera debe ser puesto en libertad inmediatamente. El gobierno de EE.UU no tiene ningún derecho a juzgarlo. Este juicio es una farsa. Los nombres de los testigos del gobierno son secretos y el mismo gobierno admite que están siendo pagados. Además, que estos testigos son unos mentirosos de los pies a la cabeza.”

Para más información visite el portal (web) www.freeRicardopalmera.org

#WashingtonDC #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #PoliticalPrisoners

Tom Burke of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera says, “Ricardo Palmera is a Colombian patriot and freedom fighter who deserves the support of both the Colombian and American peoples. Palmera has done nothing wrong, only to love his country and fight for the Colombian people. As a peace negotiator and arranger of prisoner exchanges for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – the FARC – Palmera’s extradition and solitary confinement in the U.S. is outrageous. The U.S. government is out of bounds. This trial should not be happening. It violates the sovereignty of Colombia.”

In early March, the new Colombian foreign minister, Fernando Araujo Perdomo, demanded that the Swedish government shut down a conference that was hosting a speaker from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera. The conference proceeded and support for Ricardo Palmera is now being organized in Europe. Back in Washington D.C. at a March 19 pretrial hearing, Judge Hogan discussed radically limiting the scope of Palmera’s testimony in his upcoming trial.

Burke commented, “This trial will be grossly unfair. It will be difficult to win. Judge Hogan is seeking to gag Professor Palmera – to not allow the same testimony as the first trial. The American jurors were swayed by Palmera’s words and understood he is no criminal. That Palmera is a man who chose to fight for the people, for liberty and equality. The jurors understood Palmera’s only alternatives were exile or worse – a violent death at the hands of right-wing paramilitaries. In the first trial, Professor Palmera cleverly put U.S. intervention and the undeclared U.S. war in Colombia on trial. Judge Hogan will do everything in his power to make sure the U.S. prosecutor wins this time.”

Free Ricardo Palmera!

Picket line and press conference for Ricardo Palmera’s freedom!

March 26, 2007 / 8:30 a.m. picket line / 9:00 a.m. press conference

Federal Court Building (333 Constitution Ave. NW)

#WashingtonDC #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #JudgeHogan #FernandoAraujoPerdomo

Washington D.C. – The chant “Free Ricardo Palmera! Hands off Colombia!” rang out in front of the Federal Courthouse here, June 4, as members of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera held a picket line to demand his release. The picket line coincided with the onset of Palmera’s second trial. Members of Students for a Democratic Society from Asheville, North Carolina and the Colombian Action Network participated in the protest.

Palmera’s first trial ended with a hung jury. Presiding judge Thomas Hogan then had to remove himself from the case, when the defense brought to light Hogan’s secret maneuvering to give the prosecution an unfair advantage. Reagan appointee Judge Royce C. Lambert is presiding over the current trial. .

“Ricardo Palmera is a hero who has devoted his entire life to working and fighting for the liberation of the Colombian people,” said Mick Kelly, of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera, speaking outside the courthouse. “He has done nothing wrong. The only fair trial is no trial and what is going to take place in that courtroom is the real crime. There are reports that Ricardo Palmera will be allowed few or no witnesses on his behalf. And we know that a number of the witnesses for the prosecution are liars who can not keep their stories straight.”

After the picket line and press conference, supporters of Palmera entered the courtroom where the final stages of jury selection were under way. Palmera flashed a big smile as his backers discreetly raised their fists and gave him the thumbs up sign.

Palmera, who is also known as Simon Trinidad, is a leading member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and represented the rebel group in peace negotiations with Colombian government. Palmera was kidnapped in Quito, Ecuador by the FBI, brought to Colombia and sent to United States. Currently he is in solitary confinement in Washington D.C. Incredibly enough, he is charged with ‘hostage taking,’ in relation to an incident in Colombia where the FARC shot down a plane that had some U.S. mercenaries on board.

The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera is organizing a:

Picket line and press conference for Ricardo Palmera’s freedom

June 18, 2007; 8:30 a.m. picket line, 9:00 a.m. press conference

Federal Court Building (333 Constitution Ave. NW)

Washington, D.C

#WashingtonDC #News #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #JudgeHogan

Washington, D.C. – Anayibe Rojas Valderama, a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) also know as ‘Sonia’, was sentenced here, July 2 by Judge James Robertson to nearly 17 years in federal prison on charges of shipping cocaine to the United States.

“What took place in this courtroom today was anything but justice. This is a frame-up, pure and simple,” stated Mick Kelly outside the D.C. courtroom. Kelly, who helps lead the defense work for another Colombian political prisoner, Ricardo Palmera, added, “In the course of the trial the prosecution called on a band of professional liars to testify. There was the $15,000-a month DEA informant, Rocio Alvarez. Then there were the tales of the retired Colombian National Police officer, Mauricio Moreno, who spoke of plots to sell cocaine to the paramilitaries and then steal it. And then there was ‘Juan Valdez’ whose testimony was a collection of lies.”

During the sentencing hearing, defense attorney Carmen Hernandez pressed for a new trial. She cited the fact that the testimony of ‘Juan Valdez’ was completely discredited and this amounted to new evidence. She also pointed out that her interviews with the jurors after Sonia’s conviction indicated that they were influenced by the ‘Juan Valdez’ testimony. Judge Robinson agreed that the ‘Juan Valdez’ testimony was dubious at best, but then he ruled against a new trial.

Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Hernandez told the press that the trial is not the way things are supposed to work under the constitution. Hernandez was not allowed to make needed investigations and the instructions to the jury were flawed.

Sonia speaks out

Before she was sentenced, Sonia, who was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, told the court that she was innocent of the charges. She repeatedly proclaimed her innocence throughout her statement.

She related that she had been born to a poor farm family in an outlying area without a government presence. She only received two years of schooling and had to attend school barefoot because of her family’s poverty. She got her first pair of shoes at age 14. It was because of the conditions in her area that she joined the FARC guerillas.

She was arrested in February of 2004 on her brother’s farm and charged with rebellion. However, she was extradited to the United States 13 months later on charges of export of large amounts of cocaine to the United States – the charge she continues to deny.

She asked how it can be explained that, if she was a major drug dealer, her family continues to live in poverty and does not have enough to eat. She also said that family members of Colombians convicted on similar charges in the United States cannot visit because they are denied visas. Even if her family could get visas they could not afford airfare to visit her.

The Bush administration labeled her as a ‘terrorist’ because of her FARC membership. Because of that label, she was kept in solitary confinement for two years of her time here, in spite of never having been charged with infraction of prison rules. She was subjected to severe treatment, for instance being allowed to bathe only twice a week – and then only in handcuffs. Sonja described her solitary confinement as “psychological torture.”

Sonia noted that during a brief period she had been held in the general population of the District of Columbia jail and had been able to study and learn some English. She asked that the ‘terrorist’ label be lifted from her so that she not be held in maximum security and would be able to continue to study and learn.

“It is sad that a lie has become justice in this court because I have not done what they say I have,” said Sonja.

More to come

According to U.S. Assistant Attorney General Fisher, “The prosecution of these FARC members, the first of its kind in the United States, was made possible because of the exceptional cooperation of Colombian authorities and the hard work and efforts of the DEA agents and federal prosecutors who, working together, were essential to the successful conclusion of this important case.”

Tom Burke of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera responds: “This case demonstrates that the Bush administration will stop at nothing to criminalize the struggle for free and independent Colombia. Sonia is not a drug dealer. She is hero who is being made to suffer for her efforts to bring justice to Colombia. Her frame-up was made in the U.S.A. and was assisted by Colombia’s death-squad government.”

In a related case, the trial of FARC spokesman and peace negotiator Ricardo Palmera has moved to the jury phase.

Burke urges all progressive people to support the efforts for the immediate release of Colombian political prisoners held in the U.S.

#WashingtonDC #Colombia #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #AnayibeRojasValderama #Sonia #Americas

On Monday, July 9, 2007, in the second trial on the same charges, Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera was convicted of conspiring to take hostages. The hostages are three U.S. military contractors – foreign mercenaries fighting in Colombia’s civil war. While conducting electronic spying, the three were shot down and captured over the territory held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Their capture and imprisonment takes place in the context of the Bush administration intervening more and more in Colombia’s civil war. The U.S. is fighting a dirty war in Colombia, with 800 U.S. military advisors and 500 U.S. military contractors. Like a small-scale Iraq war, the U.S. military arms, trains and directs the Colombian military and its paramilitary death squads. Bush and the U.S. generals are in charge. President Uribe takes orders. Uribe signed the papers to extradite Ricardo Palmera to the U.S., a violation of the Colombian people’s sovereignty.

The Colombian civil war pits the peasant and worker revolutionaries of the FARC against the wealthy and corrupt Colombian elite. The Bush administration fully supports President Uribe, as he becomes entangled in scandal after scandal involving narco-traffickers in his own government.

On the other side is the FARC – incorruptible, dynamic, growing and expanding, a force to be reckoned with. The FARC is attracting leaders like Ricardo Palmera, a college professor from a wealthy banking family, who seeks peace and justice, but sees no other avenue for reform and joins the revolution. The FARC promises to turn the world upside down.

Ricardo Palmera was a leading negotiator for peace and prisoner exchanges for the FARC. During a prisoner exchange negotiation, the U.S. kidnapped Palmera in Ecuador and extradited him to the U.S. in 2004. Along with FARC member Anayibe “Sonia” Rojas, he faces bogus criminal trials in U.S. courts.

There is no fair trial. Ricardo Palmera is held in solitary confinement, with no family visits, no friends, no reporters allowed. The only time he sees friendly faces is during his trial when supporters from across the country pack the courtroom. Palmera’s defense lawyer is handpicked by the U.S. government, given little resources, and allowed no witnesses. The U.S. prosecutor spends hundreds of thousands of dollars, and is allowed a stream of witnesses, many who are paid. It was hard for the U.S. government to lose, but lose they did.

Professor Palmera beat the U.S. government in the first case with his own testimony, compelling some jurors to refuse to find him guilty. Judge Hogan declared a mistrial. At the start of the second trial, on the same exact charges, public defender Bob Tucker caught Judge Hogan cheating with U.S. prosecutor Ken Kohl. Against Hogan’s own ruling, the Judge and prosecutor conspired to find out from the jury foreperson why they lost. Judge Hogan was forced to step down – to recuse himself.

So now Ricardo Palmera is found guilty on one count of intent to take hostages. The jury appears deadlocked on the other charges and one can only imagine the horse trading taking place. The only surprise in the railroading of Ricardo Palmera is how bumbling and foolish the U.S. government has been.

Putting the FARC on trial in a U.S. criminal court as part of the Bush ‘war on terror’ is intended to criminalize revolutionaries. In the eyes of most Colombians and Americans who know of the case, it is more proof that the U.S. empire is growing desperate and acting wildly in an attempt to hold its grip.

The Colombian people understand there is no justice in the Colombian system, with impunity for the powerful and wealthy. Now too, they understand American injustice as the White House criminal Scooter Libby skips free under Bush’s orders, while Ricardo Palmera returns to a lonely prison cell. Palmera can hold his head high, knowing he struggles with the people of Colombia against poverty, misery and death brought by the U.S. dirty war in Colombia. Professor Palmera will be preparing himself for the next criminal trial where he will – unbelievably – be charged with drug trafficking to the U.S.

We will be mobilizing protests and filling the courtroom starting around Aug. 20. Join us to free Ricardo Palmera!

The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera

www.freericardopalmera.org

info@freericardopalmera.org

#WashingtonDC #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #Statement #PoliticalPrisoners #mercenaries #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC

Washington D.C. – Protesters from eight U.S. states gathered here at the start of a new trial for Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera, Aug. 20. The protesters chanted, “Free Ricardo Palmera! Stop Plan Colombia!” and “The people of Colombia are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!” The activists then proceeded into the Washington D.C. Federal Court building.

Inside the spacious ceremonial courtroom, under the historical portraits of U.S. Supreme Court judges, the solidarity activists waved, held clenched fists in the air and smiled to Ricardo Palmera as he entered. Professor Palmera raised his clenched fist and then held his open hands over his heart – once again happy to see his American and Colombian supporters. Judge Royce Lamberth read the charges against Professor Palmera and instructed the jury pool of nearly 100 people. The charges accuse Ricardo Palmera, a leading peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), of producing and trafficking five kilograms or more of cocaine to the U.S.

Tom Burke of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera was at the opening day of the trial and said, “The U.S. government has no right to put Ricardo Palmera on trial. This trial is ridiculous. Putting the FARC on trial for drug trafficking is the same as looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The evidence simply does not exist. The U.S. government can only insinuate or fabricate the evidence.”

Burke continued, “Palmera is a good man who has done nothing wrong. He is fighting for social justice and the liberation of the Colombian people from solitary confinement in a U.S. prison. President Bush is desperate because of growing public concern about lying, cheating and corruption. Now the truth is coming out about Colombian President Uribe’s ties to narco-traffickers and paramilitary death squads. Bush is backing the wrong side in Colombia’s civil war. Bush is behind the bad guys and the drug traffickers.”

Angela Denio, also of the National Committee and a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) said, “We were happy to see Ricardo Palmera and hope he is successful in defending himself and can sway the jury through his testimony again. The tragedy here is that paid professional liars and drug traffickers looking for lighter sentences will be given more time to testify than Professor Palmera. The Bush administration is criminalizing the fight for freedom and justice. People around the world are watching the travesty of Palmera’s trial. In his other trials, Palmera was not allowed witnesses and the judge and prosecutor limited what Palmera could say. The only fair trial is no trial. We demand Professor Palmera’s immediate release.”

Professor Palmera’s first U.S. trial on terrorism and kidnapping charges ended with a hung jury and Judge Hogan declared a mistrial.

Afterwards, Judge Hogan was caught cheating with U.S. Prosecutor Ken Kohl and was forced to step down. Judge Royce Lambert replaced Hogan on the bench and presided over Palmera’s second trial. Palmera won a victory of sorts again when the jury could not agree on four counts against him, including ‘terrorism’ and kidnapping charges. However, the Bush administration got what it wanted because the jury found Palmera guilty of belonging to a ‘conspiracy to kidnap’ referring to his membership in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The FARC is a 28,000-member rebel army that controls wide areas of Colombia, where it acts as the de facto government. The FARC plans to overthrow the corrupt U.S.-backed government, distribute land to the peasants, replace drug crops with food crops and end foreign corporate domination of the economy by empowering working people to run things.

The FARC wants the workers and peasants to rule instead of foreign corporations, rich landlords and drug traffickers. Professor Palmera joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia back in 1989, following the extermination of his fellow Patriotic Union (a political party) members by the Colombian state and its death squads. Over 4000 Patriotic Union members were murdered – including two presidential candidates, eight congressmen, 70 councilmen, dozens of deputies and mayors, hundreds of trade unionists, communist and peasant leaders, students and youth. Professor Palmera, in his dedication to building a just and peaceful society, joined the FARC when all avenues to reform were closed. Today, Ricardo Palmera continues his fight for the Colombian people and the oppressed and exploited everywhere.Washington D.C. – Protesters from eight U.S. states gathered here at the start of a new trial for Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera, Aug. 20. The protesters chanted, “Free Ricardo Palmera! Stop Plan Colombia!” and “The people of Colombia are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!” The activists then proceeded into the Washington D.C. Federal Court building.

Inside the spacious ceremonial courtroom, under the historical portraits of U.S. Supreme Court judges, the solidarity activists waved, held clenched fists in the air and smiled to Ricardo Palmera as he entered. Professor Palmera raised his clenched fist and then held his open hands over his heart – once again happy to see his American and Colombian supporters. Judge Royce Lamberth read the charges against Professor Palmera and instructed the jury pool of nearly 100 people. The charges accuse Ricardo Palmera, a leading peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), of producing and trafficking five kilograms or more of cocaine to the U.S.

Tom Burke of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera was at the opening day of the trial and said, “The U.S. government has no right to put Ricardo Palmera on trial. This trial is ridiculous. Putting the FARC on trial for drug trafficking is the same as looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The evidence simply does not exist. The U.S. government can only insinuate or fabricate the evidence.”

Burke continued, “Palmera is a good man who has done nothing wrong. He is fighting for social justice and the liberation of the Colombian people from solitary confinement in a U.S. prison. President Bush is desperate because of growing public concern about lying, cheating and corruption. Now the truth is coming out about Colombian President Uribe’s ties to narco-traffickers and paramilitary death squads. Bush is backing the wrong side in Colombia’s civil war. Bush is behind the bad guys and the drug traffickers.”

Angela Denio, also of the National Committee and a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) said, “We were happy to see Ricardo Palmera and hope he is successful in defending himself and can sway the jury through his testimony again. The tragedy here is that paid professional liars and drug traffickers looking for lighter sentences will be given more time to testify than Professor Palmera. The Bush administration is criminalizing the fight for freedom and justice. People around the world are watching the travesty of Palmera’s trial. In his other trials, Palmera was not allowed witnesses and the judge and prosecutor limited what Palmera could say. The only fair trial is no trial. We demand Professor Palmera’s immediate release.”

Professor Palmera’s first U.S. trial on terrorism and kidnapping charges ended with a hung jury and Judge Hogan declared a mistrial.

Afterwards, Judge Hogan was caught cheating with U.S. Prosecutor Ken Kohl and was forced to step down. Judge Royce Lambert replaced Hogan on the bench and presided over Palmera’s second trial. Palmera won a victory of sorts again when the jury could not agree on four counts against him, including ‘terrorism’ and kidnapping charges. However, the Bush administration got what it wanted because the jury found Palmera guilty of belonging to a ‘conspiracy to kidnap’ referring to his membership in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The FARC is a 28,000-member rebel army that controls wide areas of Colombia, where it acts as the de facto government. The FARC plans to overthrow the corrupt U.S.-backed government, distribute land to the peasants, replace drug crops with food crops and end foreign corporate domination of the economy by empowering working people to run things.

The FARC wants the workers and peasants to rule instead of foreign corporations, rich landlords and drug traffickers. Professor Palmera joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia back in 1989, following the extermination of his fellow Patriotic Union (a political party) members by the Colombian state and its death squads. Over 4000 Patriotic Union members were murdered – including two presidential candidates, eight congressmen, 70 councilmen, dozens of deputies and mayors, hundreds of trade unionists, communist and peasant leaders, students and youth. Professor Palmera, in his dedication to building a just and peaceful society, joined the FARC when all avenues to reform were closed. Today, Ricardo Palmera continues his fight for the Colombian people and the oppressed and exploited everywhere.

#WashingtonDC #News #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #JudgeHogan

On November 20th Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera faces sentencing in a Washington D.C federal court. The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera will pack the courtroom in support of this brave freedom fighter.

Tom Burke of the National Committee says, “We oppose the kidnapping, trials, and imprisonment of Ricardo Palmera. Palmera is a political prisoner. President Bush’s empire is crumbling around him—from Baghdad to Bogota. Even in U.S. courtrooms, brave revolutionaries like Ricardo Palmera speak against the U.S. Empire and expose the lies, the distortions, and the injustice of the Bush administration. Palmera has beaten the slanders and lies of the U.S. government again and again. We say Free Ricardo Palmera!”

Angela Denio of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) relates, “Students from across the U.S. are educating themselves and protesting the trials and sentencing of Professor Palmera. We oppose the war in Iraq. We oppose Plan Colombia—the U.S. dirty war that brings poverty, misery, and death to the Colombian people. SDS protests at the U.S. Military’s School of the America’s in Georgia, where the Colombian death squads are trained. An SOA graduate recently testified against Professor Palmera. It is Bush and the SOA that should be on trial! Our campaign to Free Ricardo Palmera shows Latin Americans that most North Americans are for peace and justice.”

Ricardo Palmera is a peace negotiator for Colombia’s rebels – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The U.S. kidnapped and extradited Palmera to a prison outside Washington D.C. where he is held in solitary confinement—allowed no family, no friends, no reporters, not even his own Colombian lawyer. Ricardo Palmera is a political prisoner. He has committed no crime. He only defends his country and fights for freedom and democracy for the Colombian people.

Professor Palmera’s trials are extraordinary. By speaking the truth, FARC leader Palmera has consistently beaten the Bush administration’s prosecutors. Palmera won a victory when the first trial ended in a hung jury. When the U.S. government re-tried Palmera on the same exact charges, Judge Hogan was caught cheating and had to step down. Hogan’s replacement, Judge Lamberth refused to allow Palmera any witnesses. The U.S. prosecutor has dozens of witnesses—paid informants, lying convicted drug runners, and corrupt Colombian government officials. At the end of the retrial, the jury could not find Palmera guilty of “terrorism” charges or a kidnapping charge related to three U.S. military contractors captured and held by the FARC. Unfortunately, based upon the FARC capturing its enemies in combat, the jury convicted Palmera of “belonging to a conspiracy to kidnap”. In another recent “drug” trial, seven American jurors wanted to find Professor Palmera “not guilty”, but a hung jury resulted. The U.S. prosecutor plans to re-try Ricardo Palmera though there is no evidence, only paid informants. Palmera plans to testify and win again. The only fair trial is no trial. The only fair sentence is no sentence.

Free Ricardo Palmera!

Picket line and press conference to demand Ricardo Palmera's freedom!

Tuesday, November 20th

8:30 AM picket line

9:00 AM press conference

U.S. Federal Court Building (333 Constitution Ave., NW)

For more info contact Tom Burke at 773-844-3612 or Mick Kelly at 612-715-3280. www.freericardopalmera.org

#WashingtonDC #Pamphlet #SDS #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC

On December 3rd Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera faces sentencing in a Washington D.C. federal court. The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera will pack the courtroom in support of this brave freedom fighter.

Ricardo Palmera is a peace negotiator for Colombia’s rebels – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The U.S. extradited Palmera to a prison outside Washington D.C. and hold him in solitary confinement – no family, no friends, no reporters, not even his own Colombian lawyer. Palmera only defends his country and fights for freedom and democracy for the Colombian people.

Professor Palmera’s trials are extraordinary. By speaking the truth, FARC leader Palmera has consistently beaten the Bush administration’s prosecutors. Palmera won a victory when the first trial ended in a hung jury. When the U.S. government re-tried Palmera on the same exact charges, Judge Hogan was caught cheating and had to step down. Hogan’s replacement, Judge Lamberth refused to allow Palmera any witnesses. The U.S. prosecutor has dozens of witnesses – paid informants, lying convicted drug runners, and corrupt Colombian government officials. At the end of the retrial, the jury could not find Palmera guilty of “terrorism” charges or a kidnapping charge related to three U.S. military contractors captured and held by the FARC. Unfortunately, based upon the FARC capturing its enemies in combat, the jury convicted Palmera of “belonging to a conspiracy to kidnap”. In another recent “drug” trial, seven American jurors wanted to find Professor Palmera “not guilty”, but a hung jury resulted. The U.S. prosecutor plans to re-try Ricardo Palmera though there is no evidence, only paid informants. Palmera plans to testify and win again. The only fair trial is no trial. The only fair sentence is no sentence.

Tom Burke of the National Committee says, “Ricardo Palmera is a good man who dedicates his whole life to the Colombian people. We oppose the extradition, trials, and imprisonment of Ricardo Palmera because it violates the sovereignty of the Colombian people. Palmera is a political prisoner.”

Angela Denio of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) relates, “Students from across the U.S. are educating themselves and protesting the trials and sentencing of Professor Palmera. We oppose the war in Iraq and we oppose Plan Colombia – the U.S. dirty war that brings poverty, misery, and death to the Colombian people. SDS protests at the U.S. Military’s School of the America’s in Georgia, where the Colombian death squads are trained. An SOA graduate recently testified against Professor Palmera. It is Bush and the SOA that should be on trial! Our campaign to Free Ricardo Palmera is growing and spreading. People are speaking out.”

Burke finishes, “From Baghdad to Bogotá, President Bush’s empire is crumbling around him. At every trial, the rebel leader Ricardo Palmera exposes the lies, distortions, and injustice of Bush and the U.S. Empire. Palmera has beaten the U.S. government again and again. We await Ricardo Palmera’s speech! We say Free Ricardo Palmera!”

Free Ricardo Palmera!

Picket line and press conference to demand Ricardo Palmera's freedom!

Monday, December 3rd, 8:30 AM picket line 9:00 AM press conference

U.S. Federal Court Building (333 Constitution Ave., NW)

For more info contact Tom Burke at 773-844-3612 or Mick Kelly at 612-715-3280. www.freericardopalmera.org

#UnitedStates #SDS #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #Statement #PoliticalPrisoners #PlanColombia #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC

The winter holidays are here. While many of us warmly celebrate with family and friends, Colombian revolutionaries Ricardo Palmera and Anayibe “Sonia” Valderrama continue to sit in lonely prison cells because they chose to fight against poverty and oppression in their own country. Ricardo Palmera and Sonia are political prisoners held hostage by George Bush and the U.S. empire. They have committed no crime; they have only rebelled against injustice and misery, poverty and death. Ricardo Palmera and Sonia dedicate their lives to the Colombian people and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Like nearly half of the 28,000-plus FARC members, Sonia is a brave woman from a peasant family who learned to read and write with the rebels and went on to become a leader of other fighters. A guerrilla commander, she was captured by the Colombian military, imprisoned on a Navy ship and then extradited to the U.S. Sonia’s trial was a blizzard of accusations and false testimony by drug traffickers, paid informants and rotten government officials. Sonia never stood a chance in a process fixed to convict her and she is now serving 17 years in a Texas prison, which is where George Bush belongs. The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera continues support Sonia.

Ricardo Palmera, a peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is in solitary confinement – now for a third year – allowed no family, no friends, no supporters and no interviews with the press. Still, Ricardo knows he is not alone, because when he enters the courtroom to testify he sees dozens of North American supporters raising their fists in solidarity. The smiling Colombian revolutionary knows we stand with him against the Bush administration’s military adventure, money and corruption. Palmera faces down his accusers with truth and the conviction of a revolutionary. When paid informants make up their stories, Palmera gives the defense lawyers questions that expose the lies to the American jury. When the ludicrous FBI agent Alejandro Barbeito claims Palmera and his Colombian lawyer agreed to an interrogation with no lawyer present. Palmera shouts, “You are a liar!” The U.S. government claims Palmera is a ‘criminal,’ but Professor Palmera is held under ‘special administrative measures’ and the trials are endlessly bizarre.

The Washington D.C. trials are like grade school winter pageants gone wrong – Palmera is allowed no witnesses, Judge Hogan was forced to step down after he was caught cheating, Palmera beat the latest drug trial where there was no physical evidence – only ‘testimony’ from paid liars who can’t keep their lines straight, convicted drug traffickers looking for get out of jail free cards and wickedly corrupt Colombian military and government officials. The jurors have chosen again and again to believe Professor Palmera over the Bush and Uribe regimes. In the latest ‘drug trial’ seven of the American jurors wanted to set Palmera free because there was no evidence, only accusations and slanders. The U.S. government claiming the FARC is involved in drugs is the same as the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in Iraq. It is simply a lie to further U.S. military intervention. It is no wonder that Professor Palmera has beaten all but one of the charges – the one saying he belongs to a conspiracy, the FARC. If most Americans understood the oppressive realities of Colombia, they might consider joining the conspiracy too!

So this holiday season, while George Bush acts the part of Scrooge, we ask you to reach out and warm the heart of the brave revolutionaries Ricardo Palmera and Sonia (Anayibe R. Valderrama). Send holiday cards and greetings to:

Anayibe R. Vaderrama

#27990-018

FMC Carswell

Federal Medical Center

P.O. Box 27137

Ft. Worth, TX, 76127

Ricardo Palmera

C/O Federal Public Defender for D.C., Robert Tucker

625 Indiana Ave., Suite 550

Washington D.C. 20004

Because this is a political trial with ‘special administrative measures,’ we must mail Palmera’s cards to the U.S. court appointed attorney who can only tell Palmera about them. Please send a copy of your message to the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera at www.freericardopalmera.org. We will pressure the U.S. government to restore the rights of prisoners. By sending these messages of holiday solidarity, you are sending a clear message to Ricardo’s jailers that you are concerned about the fate of this Colombian freedom fighter.

In solidarity,

The editors and staff of Fight Back!

#UnitedStates #Editorial #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #AnayibeSoniaValderrama

FARC Communiqué in Regards to the Liberation of Clara and Consuelo

January 10 of 2008

1. Honoring our word and commitment, today the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC, hand over Clara Rojas and Consuelo González de Perdomo to the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, to Senator Piedad Cordova and the international community. If the boy Emmanuel is not in the arms of his mother, it is because President Uribe Vélez has sequestered him in Bogotá. Let him free so that we can all celebrate this event.

2. This humanitarian and unilateral liberation is possible despite the hindrance presented by President Uribe himself, a sworn enemy of the exchange of prisoners and enemy of peace with social justice, as he follows the ideological guidelines of Washington. Raising above the intense military operations of the Patriotic Plan, the seizure of the proofs of life, the capture of the humanitarian messengers who carried them, the sequestering of little Emmanuel in Bogotá, and the absurd intention to exclude the international humanitarian commission from the facilitation, we have taken this first encouraging step that invites to think about the possibility of peace in Colombia.

3. The efforts must now be directed at obtaining the military clearing of Pradera and Florida as the stage for the dialogue government-FARC for the agreement and the materialization of the exchange to make possible the liberation of all the prisoners in control of the contending forces, of those captives in the mountain and the imprisoned guerrillas in the jails of the regime, including Sonia and Simón. Our will is unquestionable. Let's not forget that in the recent past we unilaterally released 304 military and police officers, captured in combat. The handover of Clara and Consuelo we carry out today reaffirms our disposition.

4. The fact is that we are a belligerent force awaiting recognition by the governments of the world. This step would smooth the winding path of the Colombia people in their search for peace. Ours is a legitimate struggle. It is upheld by the universal right that all the peoples of the world have to raise against oppression. Our father, the Liberator Simón Bolivar teaches us that, when power is oppressive, virtue has the right to overwhelm it, and that the virtuous man rises against the oppressive and unbearable authority to replace it with a kind and respected one. And this is, indeed, the FARC's endeavor.

5. President Chávez, thank you very much. The world does not doubt that your immense heart beats sincerely for the peace of Colombia and the redemption of the peoples. We also thank the governments and personalities of the world who have surrounded him without reservations in this noble effort. And our special thanks to the brave people of Venezuela for their support and brotherhood. To the relatives of the prisoners and the friends of the humanitarian exchange our call to persist. We will obtain the exchange.

Secretariat, Central High Command of the FARC

Mountains of Colombia, January 10 of 2008

#CollegeParkMD #Colombia #Statement #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #ClaraRojas #ConsueloGonzalezDePerdomo #Americas

I met Comandante Raul Reyes in July 2000, at a guerrilla camp outside of San Vicente del Caguan, Southern Colombia. My visit was the FARC's first from U.S. solidarity activists. At the time, the FARC-EP was in the midst of a dialogue with the Colombian government which took place in the area I visited, an area cleared of all U.S. and Colombian military and police forces, and where the guerrillas operated openly.

After having a taste of life in town, and a visit to the site of the dialogues, we were driven around winding, rutted dirt roads, into the mountains, and to a semi-permanent FARC encampment, where Comandante Reyes was based, along with about 40 other men and women.

He acted as our principal host during my week inside FARC-controlled territory. My first night at camp, he invited us to join him for dinner. After dinner, we shared a few rounds of vodka, and a smoke for those who wanted it. He asked about the political situation in the United States, and how North Americans viewed the struggle in Colombia. Then, the Comandante shared his views, and that of the FARC, on the political situation in Colombia, the significance of the dialogue with the government and the prospects for peace.

That first night, a couple of the young guerrilleras in the camp warned me that the Comandante’s snoring might keep me awake. With his tent just up the hill from mine, I noticed that he fell asleep quickly, and his comrades weren’t wrong about the noise. To be honest, I slept more soundly in this war-ravaged country, with the constant assurance that a top commander of the FARC was sleeping in the next tent.

Throughout my stay, he made himself available to meet with me and answer my questions, he assigned various comrades, young and old, men and women, to look after me and show me around. He spoke about each of them with respect and affection, sharing some of their stories, and encouraging me to meet them – one compañera who was chief of electronic communications, and whose niece and nephew were visiting the camp; a young combatant who was taken in by the guerrilla after all his family was murdered by paramilitaries; and Tio, who had been a FARC combatant since the beginning. If I had any questions about who was in the FARC, why they joined, what life is like in the FARC, or what they thought of various issues, he always encouraged me to ask the guerrillas themselves. And I did.

I enjoyed his warmth and humor. He had a friendly, round face, a quick smile, and surprisingly gentle hands. It was clear that he cared about the men and women under his command. Comandante Reyes did not hesitate to laugh with them, or dance with them, or comfort them. I was struck that he took responsibility for not only giving political and military leadership, but he also gave attention to the individual human development of each of the comrades. My heart aches for the very personal loss suffered by the many brave and dedicated guerrillas who have had the opportunity to fight alongside Comandante Reyes. His example stands in direct contrast to false images from the Colombian and U.S. governments, who strip the FARC of their humanity.

The U.S. opposed the talks between the Colombian government and the guerrillas. The pressure of massive military aid and support via Plan Colombia eventually led to a collapse of government willingness to talk about a negotiated political settlement with the FARC. A year and a half after my visit, the Colombian government abruptly ended the talks with the FARC. Then-president Pastrana launched a massive carpet-bombing campaign across the entire area that had been controlled by the guerrillas and called for the arrest of Raul Reyes and the rest of the FARC’s negotiators. The U.S. State Department put a price on his head – $5 million for information leading to his arrest.

Six years later, the U.S. has what it has wanted: Comandante Raul Reyes has been killed. We know very little about the circumstances surrounding his death. We don’t know to what extent U.S. forces or intelligence were directly involved. We do know that the U.S. has fueled this war with arms, and no doubt it was U.S. bombs, helicopters and bullets that killed Comandante Raul Reyes and his comrades this weekend. We know that in addition to aerial bombardment, some of the FARC members killed were shot in the back. The criminal Colombian government and their U.S. accomplices should be called to pay for this cowardly and criminal attack.

His death is a tragic loss to the Colombian revolution and to the global anti-imperialist struggle. The continuing struggle for the liberation of Colombia and an ever-growing international solidarity movement will stand as a living monument to his contributions. With a heavy heart, I take strength from a statement he made just last November: “A political and socially conscious human being, with liberatory spirit, is always ready to give his life for the most beautiful and just causes!”

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #RaulReyes #Colombia #Remembrances #JessSundin #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #OpEd #Americas

Palmera, who was kidnapped from Latin America by the U.S. government, is on trial for phony drug charges. His last trial on the same charges ended with a hung jury. The well-known Colombian Marxist and peace negotiator for the FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), is being held in solitary confinement.

Tom Burke of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera stated, “Ricardo Palmera should be released at once. The U.S. government has no right to try him and his trial is a farce. The names of many of the witnesses are secret and government admits they are being paid. And they are liars to boot.”

For further information check the web site for the N ational Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera.

#WashingtonDC #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC

Washington D.C. – Fight Back! interviews Kati Ketz, who attended the trial of Ricardo Palmera here, April 8. Ketz is a member of Students for a Democratic Society in Asheville, North Carolina. The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera urges all progressive people to attend the trial.

Ricardo Palmera is a leading member of the FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) who represented the rebel group in peace negotiations with the Colombian government.

Tom Burke of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera states, “The prosecution is trying to set up Palmera and the FARC on phony drug charges. The U.S. government is trying to discredit the rebels and justify U.S. intervention in Colombia. Ricardo Palmera should be released now.”

#WashingtonDC #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC

Ricardo Palmera was a top peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) until he was kidnapped in Ecuador and brought to Washington D.C. The FARC is fighting to topple the U.S.-backed Colombian government. Palmera is being held in solitary confinement.

This is the second trial to end with a mistrial on these particular charges. Professor Palmera has also faced two other trials – one of which ended in a mistrial and the other with a single conviction out of four charges. In this trial the prosecution’s strategy was to portray Ricardo Palmera and the FARC as part of some kind of drug dealing gang. Since this is untrue, the prosecution was forced to rely on paid witnesses who lied on the stand and whose identities were kept secret.

Tom Burke, of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera states, “The prosecution and the U.S. government want to portray Ricardo Palmera as a criminal and criminalize the struggle of the Colombian people who are fighting for a just society free of foreign domination. They failed.”

The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera has organized numerous protests and other events to demand the immediate release of Palmera.

#WashingtonDC #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #mistrial

Angela Denio, a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and a leader with the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera said, “This is an exciting victory. After two mistrials for the same charges, the US Government has finally accepted that any jury will see thorough their contradictory witnesses and repeated lies. After the last mistrial we were asking ourselves “how many times will they retry this man for the same charges?” The Bush administration finally realized it is only embarrassing itself further. This new development lends only more proof to the truth—that neither Ricardo Palmera nor any of the FARC leaders traffic cocaine. This is a fact that the Uribe and Bush governments would like to deny because they are the ones who should be on trial. Plan Colombia must be stopped and Ricardo Palmera freed.”

Ricardo Palmera, a political prisoner of the Bush White House is held under “special administrative measures”—not allowed any visits from family, friends, or supporters. The media is not allowed to interview Palmera and he is held in solitary confinement. Professor Palmera is likely to be moved to a Federal Prison soon.

Better known in Colombia by his nom de guerre Simon Trinidad, Ricardo Palmera was previously handed a sixty-year sentence for belonging to the “criminal conspiracy” of the FARC. The FARC is a 44-year-old revolutionary insurgency that governs large swaths of Colombia and is quietly present in most cities and towns. The FARC is composed of tens of thousands of peasants and working people, supported by millions more, and seeks to overthrow the corrupt wealthy elites backed by the U.S.

Tom Burke of the National Committee said, “The imprisonment and trials of Ricardo Palmera are a violation of the sovereignty of Colombia. The idea that the FARC is a drug cartel is a bigger fantasy than the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Everyone in the U.S. and Colombian governments know this, but they are at war with the FARC and will say anything. The Bush administration fears a revolution in Colombia will stop U.S. corporations from pillaging the oil, the coal, and other natural resources. The Bush White House must be very disappointed with the outcome of Ricardo Palmera’s trials.”

To write and congratulate Ricardo Palmera on his latest victory, address cards and letters to:

Ricardo Palmera

c/o Federal Public Defender for D.C., Robert Tucker

625 Indiana Ave., Suite 550

Washington D.C. 20004

#WashingtonDC #News #SDS #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #specialAdministrativeMeasures #RevolutionaryArmedForcesOfColombiaFARC #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmer