Fallout from FARC pipeline attacks dominates Colombian headlines

FARC leader Matias Aldecoa admitted in an interview with Bloomberg that the FARC rebels are behind the recent attacks on Colombia’s oil pipelines. Bloomberg interviewed Aldecoa in Havana, where FARC leaders and representatives of the Colombian government have been negotiating a peace treaty since November 2012. Aldecoa said, “Soon people will see the war in this latest phase, and they’re going to see the number of police and soldiers who die. For us, oil pipelines aren’t the No. 1 target.”

According to Aldecoa, the purpose of the attacks is to hurt the Colombian economy and investor confidence. New Colombian defense minister Luis Carlos Villegas blasted Aldecoa’s threats, warning during a press conference in Bogota, “We are going to react calmly, but with all our strength to this vile threat from this man in Cuba.”

On Wednesday, Francisco Lloreda, president of the Colombian Association of Petroleum (ACP) called the guerrilla attacks on Colombian oil infrastructure “a silent environmental tragedy.” He blamed the FARC and ELN rebel groups for the largest oil-related environmental tragedies in Colombia. Lloreda blasted the rebel groups for their hypocrisy in claiming to defend the interests of Colombia’s poorest citizens while they destroy the country’s most valuable resources.

The pipeline attacks have already affected Ecopetrol’s operations, as the Colombian state-owned oil company supposedly was forced to cancel three to four shipments of Vasconia crude oil because of the pipeline bombings.