No Rush to Justice

By Richard Emblin/Bogota

The Colombian rebels who once promised to execute those responsible for the slaying of three U.S. citizens near the Venezuelan border seem unlikely to punish the real killers. A spokesman for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) claimed at the time that the three U.S. humanitarian workers--Terence Freitas, 24, from California; Lahe'ena'e Gay, 39, from Hawaii; and Ingrid Washinawatok, 41, from Wisconsin--were abducted and killed by a local squad leader acting without higher orders. Their bullet-riddled bodies were discovered March 4. But Colombian military intelligence intercepted a radio conversation between the squad leader and his senior officer, German Briceno, in which Briceno ordered the squad leader to "kill these sons of bitches." Although an arrest order has been issued for Briceno, the rebels are refusing to hand him over to authorities. And it's doubtful that he will face the FARC's military tribunal: his brother is second-in-command of the FARC, a Marxist guerrilla group that controls a large swath of Colombian territory. Insiders claim that the Bricenos represent those within the FARC who are opposed to peace talks with Colombian authorities, and the murders of the three Americans may have been an attempt to force the government to back away from negotiations, under U.S. pressure.

--By Richard Emblin/Bogota