Nickdfresh
11-27-2004, 02:26 PM
Colombian official: Rebels planned to kill Bush
Saturday, November 27, 2004 Posted: 2:04 PM EST (1904 GMT)
(CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush was targeted for assassination by Colombia's Marxist rebels this week when he visited the city of Cartagena, a Colombian official said Saturday.
But Colombian Defense Secretary Jorge Alberto Uribe said no maps or any other evidence of the alleged plot by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known by its Spanish acronym FARC -- has been recovered.
Security was heavy during Bush's visit, and no incidents occurred.
The president stopped briefly in Colombia on November 22 on his way back to Washington after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago, Chile. (Full story)
Established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, the 16,000-member FARC is Colombia's oldest, largest, most capable and best-equipped Marxist rebel group, according to the U.S. Department of State.
It is classified by the State Department as a terrorist group that conducts bombings, murders, kidnappings and hijackings.
Colombia has seen decades of civil warfare, involving government troops, leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups.
President Bush shakes hands with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at a news conference in Cartagena, Colombia, on November 22.
Saturday, November 27, 2004 Posted: 2:04 PM EST (1904 GMT)
(CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush was targeted for assassination by Colombia's Marxist rebels this week when he visited the city of Cartagena, a Colombian official said Saturday.
But Colombian Defense Secretary Jorge Alberto Uribe said no maps or any other evidence of the alleged plot by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known by its Spanish acronym FARC -- has been recovered.
Security was heavy during Bush's visit, and no incidents occurred.
The president stopped briefly in Colombia on November 22 on his way back to Washington after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago, Chile. (Full story)
Established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, the 16,000-member FARC is Colombia's oldest, largest, most capable and best-equipped Marxist rebel group, according to the U.S. Department of State.
It is classified by the State Department as a terrorist group that conducts bombings, murders, kidnappings and hijackings.
Colombia has seen decades of civil warfare, involving government troops, leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups.
President Bush shakes hands with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at a news conference in Cartagena, Colombia, on November 22.