Colombia’s largest rebel group FARC planned to kidnap people outside Colombia, the country’s President Juan Manuel Santos said Thursday.
According to Santos, documents found on the computers of slain rebel commander “Mono Jojoy” show the rebels had kidnapping plans in countries like Netherlands Antilles, Venezuela, Peru and Mexico.
Santos read an email from 2003 wherein the FARC were talking about their intention to kidnap a banker on one of Venezuela’s beaches where that person was at the time.
To finance its 45-year long war against the Colombian state, The FARC considered “to realize some significant abduction abroad,” Santos quoted the email.
According to the alleged FARC email, the guerrillas were looking for ways the kidnappings couldn’t be linked to the rebel group.
“There is the possibility, already in progress, to work with some Mexican friends … the part that comes down to us is the negotiation and the changing of money they pay. They will take care of the rest,” the email sent to another slain FARC commander, Raul Reyes, said.
Santos did not say if Colombian authorities have warned foreign governments and intelligence agencies about the alleged FARC plans to take their kidnapping activities abroad, but said he was showing the emails “so that the whole world is aware of what the FARC really do.”
The FARC and other illegal armed groups are known to kidnap Colombians for extortion purposes.
