* More on that mysterious French plane. The BBC references a Le Monde report that the plane had medical personnel and secret agents aboard in an attempt to rescue kidnapped former Colombia presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who holds dual French and Colombia citizenship. After a few days of waiting, Brazilian authorities asked the French group to leave and they complied. Now the Brazilian authorities are upset that they weren't notified beforehand, Colombian authorities are fuming privately, and Ingrid Betancourt, a brave woman with the courage to speak her mind in a nation where that usually invites little more than suffering, remains a hostage of the FARC. * In advance of his eventual disarmament and the disbanding of the AUC (United Self-Defense Force of Colombia), Carlos Castano is trying to develop his public relations skills. In his message, Castano said that during the AUC's campaign, "massacres were committed, we resorted to the finances of drug trafficking, we resorted to extortion, we practiced some acts of pillage and corruption." He said he would not justify those acts by saying rebels also commit abuses. Meanwhile, Castano's drug trafficking leaves him with an indictment from the USA. As I wrote here, I can't wait to see the FARC's PR efforts . . . * JK: Thomas McClarty looks at the U.S.-Mexico relationship in this Houston Chronicle article. * Time may be a great healer, but it can also stand logic on its head sometimes. Take the campaign of Efrain Rios Montt, the former dictator of Guatemala who brutalized the Maya when he was in power in the early 1980's (note Figure 4.1 in the link). Rios Montt and his supporters have already given Guatemala a sample of what to expect. * Even as Peru presses Japan to extradite Alberto Fujimori, the former president of the Andean nation believes that he has a political future there. Maybe the continuing trials of Fujimori's henchmen, Vladimiro Montesinos, will put a damper on the former president's ambitions. * Robin Kirk's More Terrible than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America's War in Colombia is probably the best source I have found regarding the current situation in Colombia. Ms. Kirk was a researcher in Colombia for Human Rights Watch and combines firsthand accounts (including a chilling meeting with Carlos Castano) with historical perspective in order to show a nation whose millions of decent, law-abiding citizens are trapped between the major players in this intractable conflict. The next installment of Randinho's Latin America Briefing will be September 9th. Meanwhile, regular updates concerning Latin American events can be found at Beautiful Horizons.