Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)
Bogota, 21 February (Xinhua): A cocaine lab, a radio network and a base allegedly belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were destroyed in central Colombia, officials said Thursday.
The Colombian Air Force (FAC) said it had bombed an area in La Uribe, in Meta province, following an investigation into the alleged rebel radio “Resistance Voice.”
“The clandestine radio network was in a building with transmission equipment, antennas and a security base, which were completely destroyed,” the FAC said, adding that a drug lab was also found there.
FARC, Colombia’s largest rebel group, has been fighting against the Colombian government for almost half a century.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has reiterated his intention to defeat FARC by military means, while Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been trying to promote a dialogue between Uribe’s government and the rebels to reach a peace treaty in Colombia.
[Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported on 21 February that the “La Voz de la Resistencia” FM radio station was based along the upper reaches of the Guape river in La Uribe municipality. According to officials, it was “the main source of terrorist broadcasts”.]
(Source: Xinhua news agency website, Beijing, in English 21 Feb 08 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)