Three U.S. Citizens Found Slain in Venezuela

Only days after two Americans were killed by rebels in Africa, the bodies of three U.S. citizens who were kidnapped last week by suspected Colombian guerrillas have been found in Venezuela, reportedly with bullet wounds to the head.

The bodies of three Americans--including one Californian--who had been visiting the U’wa tribe in northeastern Colombia were found Thursday, Fernando Gerbasi, Venezuela’s ambassador to Colombia, said Friday.

They were discovered near a Venezuelan border town not far from where they were abducted, he said. Colombian police said each of the women were shot four times and the man was shot six times.

They were identified by tattoos and an American Express card found in the underwear of one body, Gerbasi said. The U.S. State Department confirmed the identities of the three Americans.

On Monday, two Americans were among eight foreign tourists killed while on a gorilla safari in Uganda.

The Colombian killings are expected to be a serious blow to the credibility of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, this nation’s oldest and largest guerrilla group. With their peace talks with the government stalled, the rebels have tried to establish their credentials as a voice for Colombia’s poor and neglected as they continue attacks and kidnappings.

Known by the initials FARC, the insurgents are blamed for 60% of Colombia’s staggering 2,000 kidnappings a year; ransoms ranging from a few thousand to millions of dollars help finance their guerrilla war.

“We condemn the FARC in the strongest possible terms for this barbaric act,” State Department spokesman Lee McClenny said in Washington. “We also demand that the FARC accept responsibility for this cold-blooded murder and turn over those of its members who perpetrated this crime.”

Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatok and Laheenae Gay were abducted by heavily armed men as they left U’wa territory Feb. 25. Their U’wa escort was released. The U’wa and Colombian police blamed the 54th Front of the FARC.

“It’s genocide committed by the FARC,” said Gen. Jorge Mora Rangel, head of the Colombian army, which itself has been accused of genocide before the Inter-American Human Rights System in the alleged murders of leftist politicians.

A Colombian radio station broadcast a recording obtained from government intelligence sources that purported to be a tape of a FARC commander giving the order to kill one of the women.

However, Colombian peace brokers insisted that it was still unclear who was responsible for the slayings. “Many peace processes have broken down with provocations that come from unknown sources,” warned Noemi Sanin, a member of the National Reconciliation Commission, a group that seeks to mediate a peace agreement between the rebels and the government.

A different FARC group kidnapped and released four U.S. bird-watchers a year ago. A third group is believed to have kidnapped three U.S. missionaries in Panama six years ago. The FARC denied responsibility for that kidnapping and has not commented on the latest abduction.

The three Americans were visiting one of Colombia’s most remote areas, notorious for the viciousness of confrontations between guerrillas and the Colombian army.

Freitas, 24, of Oakland, headed a U.S. support group for the U’wa effort to prevent Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum from drilling in what the Indians consider their territory.

Freitas’ mother, Julie Freitas of Los Angeles, told Associated Press that she was “totally devastated” by her son’s death.

“I’m proud of my son,” she said. “He lived the life that he wanted to live. He had such a passion for the indigenous culture . . . and he risked his life preserving that culture.”

The U’wa threatened two years ago to commit mass suicide if Occidental were to drill. The Indians also have filed a lawsuit against Occidental.

Washinawatok, 41, who lived in New York, was a member of the Menominee nation in Wisconsin, and Gay was a native Hawaiian and member of Hawaii-based Pacific Culture Conservation International, which sponsored the trip to Colombia.

“As indigenous people, they knew our situation and supported us,” Evaristo Tegria, a member of the U’wa community, told Colombian radio.

The three had been in U’wa territory for varying periods during this visit, the longest for two weeks.

A spokesman for the victims’ families had no comment Friday.