Mark Penn, Hillary's campaign chief resigned when his connections to Colombia were exposed. Now this from Americablog this morning with hyperlinks included.

While McCain attempts to show his foreign policy experience with his trip to Colombia, one more of his major supporters and donors is connected to a group identified by the U.S. government as a terrorist group.

McCain fundraiser "oversaw payment of roughly $1.7 million" to terror group in Colombia
Joe Sudbay (DC) · 7/02/2008 10:54:00 AM ET · Link

John wrote this in March of 2007:
If you or I knowingly funneled $1.7 million to one of the worst, and best known, terrorist organizations in the world, we'd be sent to Guantanamo permanently. But when it's the senior management of Chiquita Banana, the Bush administration gives them a fine.
It probably also helps that one of those senior managers is a major fundraiser for the GOP -- and John McCain.

So, while John McCain is in Colombia today (with Joe Lieberman) to burnish his foreign policy cred, maybe he can take a minute to explain why one of his top supporters was funding a terror group in that country. Now, we all know that the traditional media types would never ask John McCain hard questions about a subject like this. They might not get the cool seats on the new plane. But, Huffington Post's Nico Pitney will:
The co-host of a recent top-dollar fundraiser for Sen. John McCain oversaw the payment of roughly $1.7 million to a Colombian paramilitary group that is today designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati businessman, was CEO of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001, and remained on the company's board of directors until May 2002. Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym AUC), which is described by George Washington University's National Security Archive as an "illegal right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country's most notorious civilian massacres."

Following a Justice Department indictment last year, Chiquita admitted to illegally funding the paramilitaries and agreed to pay a $25 million fine. Chiquita's payments to the AUC began in 1997 and lasted seven years; roughly half of the funds came after the group was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2001.

According to the Justice Department, the payments "were reviewed and approved by senior executives" of Chiquita, who knew by no later than September 2000 "that the AUC was a violent, paramilitary organization."

Late last week, Lindner co-hosted a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for McCain and the Republican Party in the wealthy Indian Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The event raised about $2 million; Lindner also serves on McCain's Ohio Victory Team.

Confirming hyperlinks are on the link.

http://www.americablog.com/2008/07/mccain-fundraiser-oversaw-payment-of.html

Sometimes, blogs provide valid information the MSM is reluctant to report and later the MSM picks up the information and publishes it. That was the case with the exposure of
Penn's lobbying efforts in Colombia. This is McClatchy's report today with no mention of McCain's supporter's "Columbian connection." 

Posted on Tue, Jul. 01, 2008

McCain has U.S. politics in mind as he visits Colombia, Mexico

Tyler Bridges | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: July 01, 2008 10:48:46 PM

CARTAGENA, Colombia — John McCain's trip here Tuesday was part of an unusual three-day presidential campaign swing to Latin America with a dual message for voters back home.

By visiting Colombia and Mexico, McCain wants to emphasize to all voters that he has stronger foreign policy credentials than Barack Obama, his Democratic rival.

McCain also wants to appeal specifically to Hispanics in the United States by expressing his concern for problems in Latin America.

"Hispanics are a very important voter bloc in some key states," Republican pollster Neil Newhouse said, citing Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida. "It's a bloc that Obama didn't score well with against Hillary Clinton" during the Democratic primaries.

President Bush got 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2004 election, according to exit polls. McCain would receive 28 percent of the Hispanic vote in Newhouse's latest poll for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal.

"The visit by Senator McCain demonstrates that we exist and are important for the United States," said Ricardo Tribin, the president of the Colombian-American Chamber of Commerce in Miami. "It's a magnificent gesture by Senator McCain."

Beginning in Cartagena Tuesday night, McCain highlighted his strong support for the Colombia Free Trade Agreement that's stalled in Congress because of Democratic Party opposition.

"Free trade is an important issue, not only for Colombia and the United States, but for the economy of the world," McCain said.

Obama, like most Democrats, opposes the deal because of job losses in the United States linked to international trade and because of violence against union leaders in Colombia, where they're being killed at alarming rates.

In Cartagena, the Arizona senator expressed his strong support for Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, the United States' closest ally in South America.

"I'm proud of the leadership and work by President Uribe," McCain said.

The full article is on the link.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/story/42834.html

Breaking news on CNN related to the release of U.S. contractors who were hostages held by FARC.  But there is no discussion on that breaking news of the "mission" when the
U.S. contractors were captured years ago. A mission that was supplying arms.   Not all that different from a similar one going back to Reagan's "Contra war."  Interesting factor this  should occur during McCain's visit. Adds to the "show." 

Maybe my personal cynicism related to the relationship of the claimed U.S. "war on drugs" and the history of the use of troops and contractors in Colombia supporting Uribe?
Maybe the MSM will discuss the further as one of the hostages had previously claimed the Colombia government was actually "in bed" with FARC. 

Perhaps, a "re-read" of this statement from Americablog with taking the time to also read the statements on the hyperlinks, prior to your mist might be in order Reaganite?

"Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati businessman, was CEO of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001, and remained on the company's board of directors until May 2002. Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym AUC), which is described by George Washington University's National Security Archive as an "illegal right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country's most notorious civilian massacres."

Just a suggestion that might create a more informed response rather than the knee jerk one defending, as you regularly do, any and all negative posts related to McCain.

Other than Reaganites usual inability to discern a negative connection to McCain, btw, did you miss he was on the Board when some of the
contributions were made?

But then sometimes are just a little too convenient and related to Bush or his surrogate McCain, it pays to have a suspicious mind.  Who
would not be more than pleased the hostages were rescued, but then the truth comes out.  Nothing like such a daring rescue to influence
a right wing candidate from an right wing Colombian leader and assure the funds for the so-called "drug war" will keep rolling in if he's later elected.  Nice show Uribe, then the truth comes out and McCain's caught lying again.

Colombians Briefed McCain Before Rescue

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 3, 2008; A04

CARTAGENA, Colombia, July 2 -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke repeatedly Tuesday and early Wednesday about how he would work as president to free three American hostages held by leftist guerrillas in Colombia, but he declined to reveal one key fact: Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and his aides had briefed him Tuesday evening about the plan to rescue the Americans, along with 12 other captives.

"I congratulate President Uribe, the military, the nation of Colombia. This is great news," McCain told reporters Wednesday afternoon, adding that Colombian officials would continue working to free "all the other innocent people who are being held hostage" by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The presumptive GOP nominee revealed his knowledge of the Colombian military's mission only after the hostages -- including Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans, Thomas Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell -- were freed Wednesday. The FARC captured Betancourt six years ago when she was campaigning for president and took the three Americans, who were military contractors, a year later when their plane crashed.

"These are very high-risk operations," McCain said, adding that he did not know the rescue was being put together before he decided to visit Colombia. "I would remind you that these things require incredibly long planning and coordination, et cetera. There's no way possible that it could have had anything to do with our visit that I could imagine. . . . It's a very happy moment."

Uribe and his defense minister told McCain and the two senators traveling with him, Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), about the mission in detail Tuesday night before they all had dinner together.

Just as U.S. authorities have been pressing for the Americans' release, French authorities have been lobbying for years for the release of Betancourt, who is also a French citizen. In December, Betancourt's mother made public a letter from her daughter, in which she wrote of becoming increasingly despondent.

"It was really a brilliant plan," Lieberman said. "I think the timing was fortuitous. They just felt they had it ready to implement."

While in Washington a shake-up in McCain's campaign organization focused attention on the doubts many Republicans have voiced about his strategy and message, Lieberman said the fact that Colombian officials chose to disclose their rescue plan in advance to McCain testified to his colleague's international standing.

"I think it was a sign of confidence of President Uribe and the defense minister in Senator McCain, and maybe in the two of us, that they were prepared to share this information last night, which was highly classified."

McCain spoke with Uribe by telephone shortly before 4 p.m. local time but revealed only a few details because he said the operation was "classified."

"I don't think that there is an established protocol" for such briefings, said a McCain aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity. " 'Protocol' is not a word I would associate with this."

McCain learned that the effort had succeeded more than an hour after his plane left Cartagena.

Earlier, local reporters questioned him about what he intended to do about freeing the three U.S. captives, and at a news conference Wednesday morning, he said he would support the Colombian government in its rescue efforts.

"I would leave the modalities to the government of Colombia," McCain said. "But I intend to do everything I can do to support an increase in their capabilities."

Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, issued a statement on the freeing of the hostages as he campaigned in Colorado on Wednesday. He celebrated their liberation and also took a hard line against the FARC.

"I strongly support Colombia's steady strategy of making no concessions to the FARC, and its targeted use of intelligence, military, law enforcement, diplomatic, and political power to achieve important victories against terrorism," Obama said in the statement. "I congratulate President Uribe and the Colombian government, express my gratitude for everyone who aided in this rescue, and will do everything that I can to assure the success of future efforts to free the FARC's hostages and to defeat this terrorist organization."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203272_pf.html