Well the official story surrounding "Operation Jaque" just keeps on unraveling on poor Alvaro Uribe. First, he denied there was any illegal misuse of the International Committee of the Red Cross's symbols during the operation. Then he and Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos explained that one "panicked" soldier put the Red Cross emblem on his chest moments before going to meet the FARC rebels. This caused some controversy, but the Red Cross accepted Uribe's explanation and apology. But prior suspicions were proven correct, as it is now confirmed that somewhere along the military chain of command at which Uribe sits at the top, a decision was made to deliberately violate the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law by having soldiers dress up as ICRC personnel and Telesur & Ecuavisa reporters.
The Colombian network RCN broadcast leaked footage of the military's preparations for the operation of July 2. The video shows the soldier wearing the Red Cross bib before the mission began - hundreds of miles away. It was clearly part of the plan and was acceptable to the many military personnel present.
Unsurprisingly, Uribe and Santos were very upset - at the tape-leakers. Wiping the egg from his face, Santos said they committed "treason to the fatherland" and that they will be "drastically sanctioned". So is it that the Colombian president and defense minister have no control over the military, or are they the fuckin liars? Either way, the Red Cross is pissed.
