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Handout / Reuters
French journalist Romeo Langlois was captured by the FARC, a Colombian guerilla group that generates most of its income from the drug trade.
As the French journalist Romeo Langlois dropped down from a helicopter into the Colombian jungle alongside anti-narcotics forces on Saturday, an unfriendly group of heavily-armed guerrillas awaited them.
Langlois, a French citizen living in Colombia, was making a documentary for news channel France24 about the Colombian government’s attempts to dismantle drug labs in the jungles of Caqueta. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, earns much of its money producing coca, which thrives in the heat and humidity of southern Colombia.
A brutal firefight ensued, according to media reports, and Langlois was shot. He has since been taken hostage, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told reporters on Sunday, according to Reuters.
Langlois, who has been in Colombia about 12 years, removed his bulletproof vest and helmet and ran toward the rebels, possibly in a bid to prove he was not a member of the armed forces, said Pinzon after speaking to one of the soldiers with the journalist.
The FARC, dressed in civilian clothes, shot at the troops from nearby houses, Pinzon said. Heavy rains in the area made it difficult for reinforcements to immediately aid the troops.
Three troops and a police officer were killed during the firefight. Five cocaine labs used to produce coca paste were destroyed. That's a small dent in an operation where one FARC division produces thousands of pounds of cocaine every week. (One pound of cocaine nets tens of of thousands of dollars on the street.) The FARC, which produces much of the world's cocaine, moves the drugs north, through Ecuador, to Mexico where they are sold to drug cartels, according to the BBC.
After the firefight, the FARC guerillas retreated into the jungle. No FARC fighters were killed.
France24 is working with officials to find Langlois and is in contact with his family.
"We know that it is a dangerous region. We are of course concerned but we trust Romeo, who knows the region well and has a lot of experience," said Nahida Nakad, head of the channel’s foreign audiovisual editorial operations, in the statement.
Langlois’ disappearance could prompt international pressure on the FARC which won some goodwill when it released 10 members of the armed forces this month after they had been held hostage in jungle camps for more than a decade, Reuters reported.
FARC, founded in 1964, is one of the last Marxist guerilla groups in the Americas, according to France24. Labeled a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, it has relied on the drug trade and hostages to pay for weapons, food and uniforms.
One of the group’s most famous hostages was Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician who was held hostage for more than six years. She was released in 2008.
Ingrid Betancourt: Profile of a Hostage
The FARC has made gestures toward peace in recent months, according to the BBC. The group’s leadership has also pledged to stop taking hostages for ransom.
But Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos warned there has not been enough evidence that FARC truly intends to give up on taking hostages, according to France24.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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When you venture into the lions den you need to be prepared to get eaten. This guy is going to need some luck to get out alive those guys don't play nice. Here's hoping he meets a commander of FARC with a sense of decency otherwise he's gone.
Any possible justification for FARC and social change went out decades ago.They are a slimy,extremely brutal cancer on the Colombian society.Feeding their people heroin and crack.and killing anyone who gets in their way.Kidnapping is one of the worst crimes and it`s a capitol one in many countries.THis is the speciality of FARC.And Hugo Chavez who is dying of cancer still gives shelter to these cancerous thugs. The jefe of FARC lives there.Poetic justice that the man who gives shelter to cancer should die of it. FARC like Sendero Luminoso in Peru are no more than mafia type drug dealers.They have no program and only believe in power .bullying.kidnapping and murder! Legalizing drugs will not get rid of them.They`ll just go into other criminal activity.Either they dismantle in a comprehensive arrangement with the government or they must be hunted down.and eliminated. There is no other way!
I hope he packed extra toilet paper, he's gonna need it. It's tough enough finding it in city bathroom stalls, much less out in the jungle!
Dropping in without an invitation is not acceptable manners! Columbus and others used the same manners! RESULT = Global Problems!
FARC will only be stopped when the drug trade is brought under legal control. There should probably be a government monopoly on certain drugs to control the market. Most important is democracy building in the affected countries. Please see my new democracy based website ->
democracychronicles.com
Anyone wonder why there is such a present ongoing discussion amoung the Latin American leaders to decriminalize drugs? They have their own war on their hands, lose their own youth, perhaps ever bit at the rate we have lost ours in the Arab wars, and it's all over the huge amounts of money raised by the illegal drug trade.
They really have had enough of this game and want it to end. Probably one of the greatest tragedies to ever happen to this world has been this stupid war on drugs. Especially when the hypocrisy of allowing the two most deadly drugs nicotene and alcohol to run free. Hypocrites!
Where did this war come from? America's status quo trembling in fear over the counter-culture movements of the 60's? Pot was the banner flag of the youth on purpose. It showed the govt. lied. They still lie.
No lo mato FARC. Franceses son amigos de la revolucion. Ayuda le.
He wasnt going to get killed by them. Hes going to see his friends and help with the revolution..?
Probably planned on it from the beginning.
¿Es revolución o un buen negocio? O talvez es un revolución financiado por las drogas.
For our gringo buddies:
Is it a revolution or just a good business? Maybe a revolution financed by drugs.
WOW.... W-O-W....
from reading your poor use of Spanglish, it is clear you are NOT Hispanic. If you happen to be hispanic, I wish you well in your upcoming bout with High School. However, as an American that has lived in both Caracas (La Lagunita) and Medellin (Laurales) I can attest:
FARC has 5% to do with following that Evil cockroach Che' and 95% to do with Perico (Cocaine). These numbers may be off by 5% when Castro's love child (hugo chavez) is introduced.
Not sure which one you were addressing, allergic dude, but environment dude just missed a little on his verb endings. Should be congratulating him for trying rather than trying to show your own great knowledge of South American revolutionaries and the cocaine market. Wow! Wow!
The social and economic problems that spewed out Che (he might have started out with good intentions but yes, became an evil cockroach) are still existant down there and so many of the rural youth have nowhere to go, especially after some of the schitt the Columbian govt threw down on them........and wow wow there's all that cocaine money. Probably the same mechanics that grab so many of our own urban youth.
Thanks Captain for taking my defense. Yes I am not Spanish and last time I used it conversationally was in 1996. But I'm not offended because my French is perfect.
I'm not for violence, anger, hunger, drugs or dead. I'm for people not being disenfranchised, marginalized and unhappy.
Prospero Tempesto banned for White Supremacist rantings and for making death threats.
I completely disagree with FARCs tactics, but if Colombia (and the US) were to honor a fair and balanced system they wouldnt be selling drugs. Actually, to pin this on FARC is outrageous. I'm willing to bet the group who took this guy hostage are probably rogue THUGS working under the guise of FARC.
FARC has been dismantled at the hands of the Colombian government. The Colombian government (err, the elite right wingers) have literally swooped in and taken land from the poorest, destroyed unions, taken out student protests, and have left 90% of the population with no choice but to be involved in the drug trade.
Literally, the poor in Colombia cant feed their families with wages that are given to them by 'legitimate' employers. Many of the people who do hold 'legitimate' jobs, have to supplement their income with the drug trade.
NAFTA has literally destroyed many central American countries. Whoever can buddy up with the US will do anything to make sure they get those contracts from US countries.
Its sad you will never read (or watch) the other side of this story. I had to wait until my junior year in college to take a class on Central America.. I could go on but it wont make any difference. People will use ad hominen to say im wrong and this story will be brushed under the rug as another terrorist group ruining the world.
One could even say Colombia is a microcosm of the US. You know, blaming the poor who are selling drugs so they can feed their families, then locking them up and ruining lives. Denying certain cohorts of society proper education, healthcare, and oppurtunity, then allowing the wealth to be concentrated in the hands of a few who use far more than they would ever need. Its not natural.
Einstein said capitalism was a predatory phase of human evolution. Look at some of the northern European countries for examples of how a blend of socialsm and capitalism benefits everyone.. Sorry for the rant, good night.
xandersch:
No need to apologize for your insight into the dangers of the kind of pervasive political economy that promotes class antagonism. Nor would I expect you to get much ad hominem flak from what you've written; it can't hurt to have an Einstein help you say it. The question remains, however: to whom should one apologize for the failings of our species? God, the Martian ambassador, unborn children, the utopian dreamers of yesteryear?
Eric:
I think your MSNBC Ivory Tower is a taller than mine. And to answer your question, I would say Darwin deserves an apology for the failings of our species. :)
Sounds a little funny.....
Are we going to see FARC-sympathetic stories coming out from this fella now. 12 years in Colombia...gee...I wonder if he knows any Farkers...?
If Langlois did take off his vest and helmet and ran toward the rebels, then he was either really stupid, or working with the rebels. It sounds like the soldiers were ambushed, so maybe the latter is the case. If Langlois really has been there 12 years, maybe he went native. I'm just speculating here, but you have to admit, that makes for a damn good story.
Well I doubt hes stupid, and I doubt he was 'working' with the rebels. If anything, he wants to get in and document their side of the story.
I wouldnt be surprised if a really nice piece about the Colombian government and its thuggish tactics come out of Lanlois being held 'hostage'. I cant think of a better way for a French JOURNALIST to get interviews from a progressive group thats considered a terrorist organization by the US and EU. Brilliant.
You know the secret service guys who ended up taking
prostitutesescorts back to their hotel rooms were there to prevent a leftist journalist associated with FARC from crossing paths with Obama. Im willing to bet this guy is being treated pretty well by FARC..like how they say the FARC "captured" this journalist. He took off his vest and ran to them.....captured?
A French journalist named Romeo being dropped off in the jungle. What could posssiby go wrong?
He looks healthy and should be able to do 6 years blindfolded.
As someone who lives in Perú I have a closeup view of the political stories in the headlines of all the Latin American countries. Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, Cuba, on and on. And there is right now a lot of talk amongst all of them to decriminalize drugs. Several reasons. Number one they think it is a US problem that is being forced upon them, at great cost both in money and blood. Number two, it funds radical terrorist groups like the FARC and Shining Path. And I believe you could add in there the fact that all of indigenous Americans have thousands of years history of drug use. At least they were able to manage it in social terms.
You might also pay attention to the fact that most of these countries view Columbia as a sell-out to the gringo reich-wing militarists of the US, and rightly so. Such stuff actually breeds nitwits like Chavez, or even worse, Che Guevarras. None, with maybe the exception of Columbia, like having US troops in their helicopters chasing after drug guys in their country and wish they would all go home. Foreign troops in one's land are foreign troops. You guys wouldn't like highly armed Bulgarians flying over your farms and cities, would you?
A kinda funny footnote. On Venezuelan TV they run documentaries about Chavez, his youth, his rise to power, his concern for the people that would make one think they are coming from North Korea.
Good points. Also there is a difference between chewing coca leaves because life is unbearable while working in a mine, and snoring highly refined cocaine extract powder thanks to Western modern chemistry, for the highly refined modern Western world.
Another plague like cocaine is meth. Created by Hitler's chemists to dope up Luftwaffe pilots on twice a night bombing missions over London, so they wouldn't fall asleep. I guess we can blame the Mexican drug cartels for the whole thing too. Who invented it and who is using it is not blamed, at all?
This man has risked his life to get a story about a bunch of drug lords. This behavior goes beyond stupid it is suicidal. The only people going into these jungles to gather information should be armed military units.
Them mutha FARCers