If you get the latin movie channel, CLAT or whatever, you might want to keep an eye out for La Toma de La Embajada. It was on tonight, and they'll be replaying it in the future. It's a true story, about the kidnapping of 14 ambassadors by the M19 guerrilla group in Bogota in 1980. The movie has a lot of footage from old newsreels.
M19 was the pioneer of urban terrorism in Colombia and developed it to a fine art. If FARC or ELN were ever able to achieve M19's level of success in cities, there'd be a lot fewer gringos looking for wives in Colombia. M19 is most famous for taking the Supreme Court hostage. It was a disaster for all involved, with half the justices and all the guerrillas dying in what followed.
Anyway, in 1980 M19 took over the Dominican embassy in Bogota during a diplomatic reception. Among others, they kidnapped 14 ambassadors, including ones for the USA, Israel and Soviet Union. They started out demanding the government release 300 of their comrades from prison. Also they wanted $50 million, and wanted the UN and Red Cross to investigate human rights abuses in Colombia. After two months they ended up with an undisclosed amount of money and one way tickets to Havana, courtesy of Cubana airlines, where they released the hostages.
The movie, which was made in 2000, had an American Grafitti or Animal House type ending, where they decribed where the various characters were years later. Numero Uno, the head M19 guerrilla at the embassy, is mayor of his hometown in Colombia. Numero Dos, the woman who was Numero Uno's second in command and love interest, went back to Colombia from Cuba and died in combat two years later.
Around 1990, M19 abandoned its weapons and entered politics, and did reasonably well in elections. The AUC and its predecessors were willing to give the ex-guerrillas a chance (that is, let them live) precisely because they did abandon their weapons.
FARC did something similar, setting up a political wing along with some other leftist groups in 1985, the Union Patriotica. But FARC, as you know, never gave up its arms. Over 1000 members of the UP were assasinated by right wing death squads. Given that experience, do you think Sureshot and his buddies are ever going to abandon violence and enter the political process? Fat chance.
I'm getting this from The Making of Modern Colombia -- A Nation in Spite of Itself, by Bushnell. It's worth a read, especially if you're interested in better understanding the history of Colombia and why there's a culture of violence. And, again, the movie's good too.
Regards,
Andy (fka Miguel -- banned and I have no idea why.)
