Excerpt from State Department daily briefing, December 1, 2000

Excerpt from State Department daily briefing, December 1, 2000

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
INDEX
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2000
Briefer: PHILIP REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN

QUESTION: What can you tell us about the incident in Colombia, involving or perhaps not involving Ambassador Patterson and Senator Wellstone?

MR. REEKER: In response to a number of press reports and certain headlines, let me just say that there was not, I repeat not, an assassination attempt made against Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and our United States Ambassador to Colombia, Anne Patterson in the town of Barrancabermeja, Colombia. The Embassy in Bogota has put out a press release just a little while ago addressing these press reports and trying to clarify.

They noted that we are aware that the Colombian police discovered two explosive devices near a road in the town of Barrancabermeja yesterday, November 30th. The US Ambassador, Ambassador Patterson, and Senator Wellstone were traveling to that town on the same date, but we are aware of no indication, no evidence that these explosive devices were targeted against the Ambassador or the Senator. They noted from the Embassy also that such explosive devices are frequently found in the area of Barrancabermeja, which is an area of extensive activity by illegally armed groups in Colombia.

So the Ambassador, accompanied by the Senator, traveled to the town via air. They were not traveling along the road near where these explosives were found. They are both fine. They returned as planned yesterday to Bogota, and in fact, Senator Wellstone departed Bogota for Washington as scheduled this morning. I would also note that the Senator's office put out a statement a short while ago also noting that there is no evidence at this point that either the Senator or the Ambassador were targets, as some press reports indicated.

QUESTION: If I could just follow up. I understand that you have no evidence that there was an assassination attempt, but you have -- but, from the suspects that are arrested or anything to say that they have committed this attack, definitely not, you have no evidence that it was not an assassination attempt?

MR. REEKER: I'm not even aware of an attack. Again --

QUESTION: Or, I'm sorry, of the land mines. I mean, you have no evidence that it was not? I mean, you just think that it was not?

MR. REEKER: Well, I guess, sort of constructing a double negative -- exactly. We have no evidence to suggest that anybody was trying to attack or assassinate anybody.

QUESTION: I understand. Right. You said there was not. So what is your conviction that there wasn't?

MR. REEKER: Again, the Embassy has been in touch with the Colombian police and are aware that they found two explosive devices near a road. I understand it may have been as far as two kilometers from a road in the Colombian town of Barrancabermeja. It did happen that the US Ambassador and Senator Wellstone were visiting that town on the same day that those were discovered, which was yesterday, as the press reports of today have begun to point out. And they noted that such explosive devices are frequently found in the area. And they are aware of no evidence that these devices were targeted against the Senator or the Ambassador.

QUESTION: But I guess my question is, but you haven't determined why they were there?

MR. REEKER: No, again, I don't think we have determined why explosive devices are frequently found in the area, all the time. I don't think we do an analysis of that except to note that it is an area used extensively -- or an area of extensive activity by illegally armed groups in Colombia. And we certainly talked about the existence of such groups in Colombia in the past.

QUESTION: Has the United States asked for a further investigation on this to the Colombian authorities?

MR. REEKER: I don't think it's a matter of any further investigation. They've been in touch. Our security office, through the Embassy in Bogota, has been in touch with the Colombian National Police, based on these press reports that came out suggesting an "assassination attempt" and, based on those discussions, the Embassy has put out their statement. And we are also saying from here that there was not an assassination attempt made against American officials there.

QUESTION: The initial report said the devices were found along the airport road. You're saying it was two kilometers from the nearest road?

MR. REEKER: I understood that there was a road -- if I even have more facts here -- in or near the town of Barrancabermeja where the Senator and the Ambassador were visiting. And some reports said that they had found them as far as two kilometers from the road. I suppose there are probably a number of roads, and I don't believe there was any particular, again, connection to the place where they were found, these devices as they were described, explosive devices, were found and the Senator and the Ambassador were visiting there, several hours later during the day.

QUESTION: Do you know whether they were aware of these devices before or during the time of their visit?

MR. REEKER: I'm not. As I said, the Embassy is very much aware that the area frequently has devices that -- such explosive devices are frequently found in this area. It's an area of extensive activity by illegally armed groups, as I noted. So I think the Embassy, in security arrangements they make, take that into full consideration, obviously, at all times whenever anybody is traveling to visit there.

QUESTION: Can you give some indication of how close or how far the Senator and the Ambassador were from the devices?

MR. REEKER: I really can't. I don't believe there was any connection at all and I don't know what other devices in an area, as they said, where these devices are frequently found, might be. As I said, the Embassy and the Senator have both indicated they didn't feel there was any connection to them, so they obviously weren't making any comparison of locations of these things at any given time.

QUESTION: I'm slightly confused. You said they flew to the town. Did they fly to the town instead of driving because these bombs were changed? Or did they always intend to fly?

MR. REEKER: According to the Embassy statement, they traveled to the town via air and did not travel along the road near which the explosive devices were found, nor had they planned to do so. And, again, you can get a copy. We will be able to give you a copy of the Embassy statement, which said just that.

QUESTION: On Colombia but another subject? The Ambassador Patterson has said yesterday that the FARC and the paramilitary groups are working in Colombia as the big drug cartels used to do. She said they have under control the whole process of exportation of the drug. She said also the United States are going to ask for the extradition of the members of the guerilla and paramilitary groups that are involved in narco-trafficking. Do you have any comments on that?

MR. REEKER: I don't have anything. I don't believe there is anything particularly new there at all, and I think Ambassador Pickering covered virtually all of that subject when he briefed last week.

QUESTION: She was talking about the connection between the FARC and the Mexican cartels?

MR. REEKER: We put out a statement about that -- which date, Chuck? -- a couple of days ago, on the 29th, we put out a statement noting that.

QUESTION: But the statement didn't say anything about this part of the extradition for the -- the petition of extradition --

MR. REEKER: I'm afraid I just don't have anything on that.

QUESTION: Is it the case also that the Intelligence Agency here have evidence that can prove that the FARC are the new cartel, that is new --

MR. REEKER: Well, I think we have discussed at great length the links between the FARC and narco-trafficking in Colombia. Ambassador Pickering -- again, I would be happy to get you a transcript of his remarks from earlier in the week; Monday, I believe it was -- discussed that at great length, based on the recent visit he had to Colombia. So I don't think there is anything new or surprising in any of those comments.

QUESTION: Yes, but now they are pointing FARC like a drug cartel; they are saying that they are working as a cartel --

MR. REEKER: Again, I just don't think I want to read more into anything. I think we have covered extensively our views on the scourge of narco-traffickers in Colombia and what that means for our own security, and certainly for Colombia's, and the connections to that to the FARC, and I just don't have anything to add there. And I really don't think there is anything particularly new there.

As of December 4, 2000, this document was also available online at http://secretary.state.gov/www/briefings/0012/001201db.html