Chavez starts hostage mission

Source: AP

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent two helicopters into Colombia on Friday on a delicate mission to pluck three hostages from the rebel-held jungle.

"The operation has begun. With these two helicopters goes great hope," Chavez said as the two Russian-made MI-172 helicopters lifted off, bearing Red Cross insignia as well as the Venezuelan flag. "We're going to get those three people in the coming days."

Wearing the red beret and fatigues of his paratrooper days, Chavez was accompanied by American filmmaker Oliver Stone and a group of international observers at the Venezuelan airstrip.

Chavez called the mission "Operation Emmanuel," after the captive child who is believed to be the son of hostage Clara Rojas and a guerrilla fighter.

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Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071228/ap_en_mo/venezuela_colombia_hostages;_ylt=AjHALVaiT2OvbHbkfoYNvOSs0NUE

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Crossing fingers and sending my best wishes...

seems like a win win situation for everyone

Seems like there are quite a few here at Democratic underground who believe all the Aristocratic hype against Chavez.

just because people vote for you doesn't make you right

so how is his relationship with Iran (that bastion of democracy and human rights) going?

the former bastion of democracy and human rights, now the fascist, torturing, rigged elections, war crimes committing, habeas corpus denying, etc., USA!

tell that to all the people they've killed but that's okay since they're buddies with Chavez, no?

if an objective analysis of the relative "badness" of the two countries, Iran and the USA, especially their foreign policies would find that the USA is much, much worse!

Who has Iran invaded in the last 50 years? How many atomic weapons have they dropped on innocent civilians historically? How many of their citizens have they locked up for smoking cannabis? Have they kidnapped foreign leaders like we did to Noriega? Have they toppled democratically elected governments in Latin America or anywhere else? What has Iran ever done except thumb their noses at the USA and refuse to kowtow?

Elements in the Iranian society, students supposedly, did take over our embassy and held those people until Reagan's henchmen made the deal to release them on the Republican's schedule for political "brownie points" here in America. We did, of course, topple their government in the early 1950s and placed Mohammed Reza Pahlavi back onto the "throne" so there is some history behind the eviction of the USA from Iran and the detention of our diplomats, spies, etc.

The USA is the absolute hub of the "Axis of Evil"and has been for decades, Iran (as with North Korea) hardly merit mention in that grisly context. Believe it or not!!!

hate to break it to you but this website wouldn't be allowed in Iran

you wouldn't be allowed to speak freely in Iran

if you had gay or lesbian friends, they would either be forced to live underground or be killed

no freedom of religion unless you play nice with the government

and let's not forget the Holocaust deniers currently running the Iranian government and their threat to wipe Israel off the map

but what goes on INSIDE Iran are Iranian issues, DUH!

Have you been there or are you regurgitating propaganda?

Demonizing places like Iran is the initial step of the descent to war, into whipping up the masses so our corporate masters here in the USA can screw with other countries without interference from the Amerikkkan sheep/people.

and no I've never been there

have you?

I'm basing my opinion of the Iranian government on reports that have come from inside the country

and any country that KILLS GAYS AND LESBIANS is not a country to be allied with

the Chavez apologists on here sicken me because they support a man and his government which allies itself with regimes like Iran

they portray themselves as fighting against the evil that they perceive in the Bush administration and the United States

but in reality, they're just as bad as those who support Bush because they also turn a blind eye to the evils that Chavez supports in his alliance with the Iranians

when he dies of old age at 110 years of age, still revered by the grateful masses of liberated native peoples around the world.

Hugo Chavez's legacy is going to be sorta like the way Cesar Chavez, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, Gandhi, MLKing, even Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara are now universally admired... Hell, even George Washington!

Dictator, blah blah blah, asshat, blah blah, shut down the media, bl-blah blah blah.

There. It's all been said.

Stop. You're killing me.

I'd wager they are getting frunstrated down there, what with all their failed missions of affecting a coup and all. If Chavez would just get lost and we could put a more pliable leader in...well it goes without saying that the big oil companies in the US would do their best to make up for lost time.

Oy.

Julie

I hope BushCo doesn't fuck it up.

shock/gasp/awe O_O!!!

Is he making a documentary?

Here's hoping for a safe return. :toast:

Julie