Soccer No Substitute for Peace in Colombia

Optimism is sorely needed in Colombia, but let’s not be naive (“A Shot of Hope for Colombia,” editorial, Aug 4). During the Copa America, Colombia’s largest daily paper reported 16 killed by illegal right-wing paramilitaries and 34 by guerrillas. Guerrillas kidnapped 12, including a former Colombian governor riding in a U.N. vehicle and three German technicians who were working with an Indian tribe on rural development projects. Another 15 were kidnapped by the largest guerrilla group in a raid on a luxury apartment building the moment the games closed.

A former Colombian minister and ambassador to the European Union was arrested in Spain by Interpol (after passing through the U.S. without capture) for complicity in a paramilitary massacre that killed 20 tenant farmers in 1996. A retired general was arrested for alleged paramilitary connections. Hope is good, but it will take more than a soccer championship to resolve this 40-year-old conflict.

Eve Baker

El Rescate, Los Angeles