[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 23745-23748]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 CONDEMNING KIDNAPPING AND MURDER BY THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF 
                COLOMBIA OF THREE UNITED STATES CITIZENS

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 181) condemning the kidnapping and murder by 
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) of 3 United States 
citizens, Ingrid Washinawatok, Terence Freitas, and Lahe'ena'e Gay.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 181

       Whereas Ingrid Washinawatok, a member of the Menominee 
     Indian Nation of Wisconsin, Terence Freitas of California, 
     and Lahe'ena'e Gay of Hawaii, were United States citizens 
     involved in an effort to help the U'wa people of northeastern 
     Colombia;
       Whereas Ms. Washinawatok, Mr. Freitas, and Ms. Gay were 
     kidnapped on February 25, 1999 by the Revolutionary Armed 
     Forces of Colombia (FARC), a group designated a foreign-based 
     terrorist organization by the United States Department of 
     State;
       Whereas the FARC brutally murdered these 3 innocent United 
     States civilians, whose bodies were discovered March 4, 1999;
       Whereas this Congress will not tolerate violent acts 
     against United States citizens abroad;
       Whereas the FARC has a reprehensible history of committing 
     atrocities against both Colombian and United States citizens, 
     including over 1,000 Colombians abducted each year and 4 
     United States civilians who were seized for a month in 1998;
       Whereas it is incumbent upon the Government of Colombia to 
     quickly and effectively investigate, arrest, and extradite to 
     the United States those responsible for the murders of Ms. 
     Washinawatok, Mr. Freitas, and Ms. Gay; and
       Whereas the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation 
     (FBI) is empowered to investigate terrorist acts committed 
     against United States citizens abroad: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) decries the murders of Ingrid Washinawatok, Terence 
     Freitas, and Lahe'ena'e Gay;
       (2) strongly condemns the Revolutionary Armed Forces of 
     Colombia (FARC);
       (3) calls on the Government of Colombia to find, arrest, 
     and extradite to the United States for trial those 
     responsible for the deaths of these United States citizens; 
     and
       (4) emphasizes the importance of this investigation to the 
     United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and urges 
     the FBI to use any and every available resource to see that 
     those who are responsible for the deaths of these United 
     States citizens are swiftly brought to justice.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Davis) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 181.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Green) and a bipartisan group of cosponsors brought this important 
resolution before the House.
  In early March, three Americans were in Colombia trying to help an 
indigenous group when they were brutally murdered by the Revolutionary 
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The FARC, designated by the State 
Department as a foreign-based terrorist group, killed these people in 
cold blood. These senseless deaths have brought the total of innocent 
American lives taken in Colombia by the FARC and the National 
Liberation Army to 15.
  This resolution will put the House of Representatives on record as 
condemning this heinous crime and calling for those responsible to be 
swiftly brought to justice. I urge my colleagues to unanimously support 
H. Res. 181.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Guam (Mr. Underwood).
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution to condemn 
the slaying of these three individuals, three Americans.
  We should be mindful that we should not tolerate the murder of U.S. 
citizens anywhere in the world. But we should also take this 
opportunity to remind ourselves of the work of these three individuals, 
Ingrid Washinawatok, Terence Freitas, and Lahe'ena'e Gay of Hawaii.
  These three individuals were involved in the work of helping 
indigenous groups in Colombia. It is entirely appropriate that we draw 
attention to the efforts on behalf of native groups around the world in 
this, the international decade of the world's indigenous peoples.
  While we take the time and the effort to call upon the Colombian 
Government to exert all effort to make sure

[[Page 23746]]

that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes be brought to justice, we 
should also take the time to understand that the work of helping 
indigenous peoples throughout the world continues on and that we need 
to support their work.
  We need to support their work not only individually. And as our 
hearts go out to the families of these three individuals, we should 
also remind ourselves and call upon the State Department to continue to 
support resolutions and actions in support of indigenous groups, 
particularly in our own State Department's work in the United Nations 
as declarations are pursued there and in the organization of American 
States.
  Again, I rise in very strong support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green), the author of 
the resolution.
  Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for yielding me time. I also want to extend my 
thanks to the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman) for his work on 
this resolution. I appreciate their support very much.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H. Res. 181, decrying the 
murder of these three U.S. citizens in Colombia, particularly Ms. 
Ingrid Washinawatok, a member of the Menominee Indian Nation in my own 
congressional district in northeastern Wisconsin. Ingrid deserves our 
gratitude and admiration.
  In these times when so many people offer little more than words and 
wishes, Ingrid walked the walk. She backed up her words and beliefs 
with constructive action. Time after time, Ingrid put her life on the 
line for what she believed in, often operating in dangerous, 
treacherous environments all around the world. She sacrificed 
throughout her life; and, in the end, she sacrificed her life itself.
  She was only 42 years old when she died at the hands of terrorists in 
Colombia. At the time that she was kidnapped, she and her two 
companions, as was mentioned by my colleague from Guam, were involved 
in an effort to better the lives of the U'wa people in northeastern 
Colombia through education.
  She had a vision, a vision of a better world, and she devoted her 
life to turning that vision into reality. But her work in Colombia was 
only the latest example of her devotion to that great vision. She 
traveled throughout the globe and tried to leave, she and her 
companions, each place that she worked just a little bit better than 
when she had first arrived.
  She is survived by her family and friends both in Wisconsin and in 
New York. But I think we all will miss her and mourn her, her and her 
companions, because with their passing, we all lose something.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 181 uses the force of this Congress to decry the 
murders of Ingrid and Mr. Freitas and Ms. Gay. It was members of FARC 
who kidnapped these three U.S. citizens. It was members of FARC who 
killed them just 2 days later.

                              {time}  1530

  These actions were reprehensible and they were intolerable. We must 
send a message today to FARC and other groups who would commit brutal 
crimes just as this that U.S. citizenship means something, and that the 
U.S. will not stand for acts of aggression against its citizens 
anywhere in the world.
  This resolution also strongly condemns FARC itself for its actions. 
FARC is a recognized terrorist organization. It has a horrifying 
history of atrocities, of thuggery.
  Finally, this resolution calls upon the government of Colombia and 
our own FBI to expedite and intensify their efforts to find and arrest 
those responsible. We must find them, if citizenship is going to mean 
anything, and they must be extradited to the U.S. for a trial.
  Again, I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and the members of the Committee 
on International Relations for their support, their work, and their 
assistance on this.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to honor the memories 
of these Americans, to make sure that justice is done, and to protect 
our citizens abroad in the future.
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink).
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this resolution, and I 
thank the sponsors of this resolution for allowing the House to 
deliberate on its contents. This resolution condemns the brutal, 
senseless killings in Colombia of three dedicated activists, one of 
whom was from my district. Lahe'ena'e Gay was from the big island. We 
mourn her death, her brutal, senseless murder, as well as that of 
Ingrid Washinawatok and Terence Freitas.
  My constituent, Lahe'ena'e Gay, was the founder of Pacific Cultural 
Conservancy International, and she devoted her life to preserving the 
cultural identity and integrity of indigenous peoples. She and her two 
colleagues were on a mission to northeastern Colombia to assess whether 
they might be able to assist the U'wa people in preserving their 
heritage in the face of outside influences, development and 
exploitation.
  As we all know when we read to our horror on March 4 that the bodies 
of Ms. Gay, Ms. Washinawatok and Mr. Freitas were found, they had been 
kidnapped from Bogota and bound and gagged and shot to death and dumped 
across the border into Venezuela. We have been advised that this was 
the action of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC as they 
are known.
  It was terribly disturbing to me, especially not only because Ms. Gay 
was from my constituency but I had just returned from a trip with my 
subcommittee, chaired by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), to 
visit Colombia and to hear such reassuring words about the progress of 
the government there regaining control of the country and doing 
something about the drug trade. And then to come back and learn that 
this terrible act had been done is truly a crushing defeat of the 
progress that we had been told had been achieved.
  So I am pleased that the House has this time this afternoon to 
consider this resolution and to condemn the actions of these terrorists 
in Colombia.
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just like to close before the gentleman from 
Nebraska does by pointing out what has already been said here today, 
that the murder of these three American citizens was senseless, brutal 
and really unforgivable. The FARC has yet to cooperate with Colombian 
authorities and U.S. officials to help resolve this case. If the FARC 
is going to persist in its claims to be a credible player in the peace 
process in Colombia, they need to begin by taking responsibility for 
their actions, by helping those who are accountable for these 
atrocities to be brought to justice, and to help send a message to put 
an end to this type of barbaric behavior in the future. We strongly 
condemn the actions of the FARC and recommend for the sake of the 
families of those unfortunate individuals involved as well as for the 
sake of peace in Colombia that the perpetrators be brought to justice. 
I strongly urge support of the resolution.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, today the House considered H. 
Res. 181, to condemn the murder of Americans by the Revolutionary Armed 
Forces of Colombia. These victims of the escalating violence in 
Colombia were from Wisconsin, and I would like to thank my colleague 
Mark Green for introducing this important resolution. I would also like 
to bring to your attention another situation in Colombia that hit close 
to home.
  This month, we are upon the one-year anniversary of the alleged 
assassination of Colombian citizen Maria Hoyos. Maria was a close 
friend of Dr. Frederick and Ronnie Wood and their family that live in 
the district I serve. Mr. Wood told me about Maria's October 28, 1998, 
assassination and questioned how the

[[Page 23747]]

United States could let Colombia, a nation in our own backyard, fall 
through the cracks of our worldwide effort at helping countries grow 
both economically and democratically.
  Maria del Pilar Vallejo de Hoyos came to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for the 
first time over twenty years ago as an exchange student. She stayed in 
the Woods' home and has been like a sister to the Woods' three 
daughters and a general member of the family. Maria returned to 
Wisconsin several times over the years and kept in touch. During 
Maria's last trip to Kenosha, her son, Guilermo, was the ring bearer at 
one of the Woods' daughter's wedding. In Colombia, she had completed 
law school and had been elected at different times to the Manizales 
City Council and the Caldas State Assembly.
  In Colombia, President Andres Pastrana has tried unsuccessfully to 
negotiate peace between the Marxist rebels (the Revolutionary Armed 
Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN)). But 
the rebels' power and influence in Colombia has grown substantially by 
collaborating with Colombia's drug-traffickers and the money they 
provide. This is a symbiotic relationship--the Marxist rebels supply 
protection for the drug lords in return for the money to arm themselves 
against the Colombian government.
  Alarmingly, drug trade in Colombia amounts to between 25 and 35 
percent of the country's total exports. From this bounty, the rebel 
guerrillas have been able to support their war against the Pastrana 
government. Some estimates put the FARC and ELN control over Colombian 
territory at 50 percent with significant influence over more than half 
of the country's municipalities.
  I am not willing to continue the Administration's policy of throwing 
more money at Colombia if it is not utilized properly through a well-
designed anti-drug strategy. However, both the Administration and 
Congress have been remiss in their haphazard guidelines for 
certification, decertification, and national interest waivers in the 
anti-drug war.
  Since 1990, Colombia has received almost $1 billion in U.S. anti-drug 
aid, yet cocaine and heroin production has continued its steady 
increase. In fact, a June GAO report concluded that Colombia's future 
cocaine production could jump 50 percent. On top of no relief in sight 
from future drug production, the country is suffering through its worst 
recession since the 1930s. The economy is predicted to shrink further 
by 3.5% in 1999, and the central bank recently allowed the Colombian 
peso to float, creating instability of the peso against the U.S. 
dollar. The growing strength of the Marxist rebels and drug trade 
combined with Colombia's faltering economy and growing income 
inequalities is a lethal combination.
  I would like to thank the Speaker for the hard work he has put in to 
shaping U.S. policy toward Colombia. Through the efforts of Speaker 
Hastert and other Members, Congress has developed direct ties with the 
Colombian government and has eclipsed the Clinton Administration's 
efforts to combat the narco-democracy engulfing Colombia. I strongly 
support the efforts of Speaker Hastert and Government Reform Chairman 
Dan Burton, who feel passionately about the war on drugs and the effect 
it is having on the Colombian people.
  Both Congress and the Clinton Administration need to look more 
closely at the problem brewing in Colombia before it threatens Western 
Hemisphere stability. As I have found out through Dr. Fred Wood in 
Kenosha, the growing violence in Colombia has already reached my 
district, and I want to ensure that other upstanding Colombian citizens 
do not meet Maria Hoyos fate while trying to maintain a legitimate 
democracy in Colombia.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, Representative Mark Green of Wisconsin and a 
bipartisan group of co-sponsors brought this important resolution 
before our Committee.
  In early March, three Americans were in Colombia trying to help an 
indigenous group when they were brutally murdered by the Revolutionary 
Armed Forces of Colombia. The FARC--designated by the State Department 
as a foreign-based terrorist group--killed these people in cold blood. 
These senseless deaths have brought the toll of innocent American lives 
taken in Colombia by the FARC and the National Liberation Army to 15. 
As of today, 12 Americans are being held hostage by these terrorist 
groups. Moreover, we still do not know the fate of the longest held 
captives, Mark Rich, David Mankins and Rich Tenenoff, kidnapped by the 
FARC in 1993.
  I have written to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to ask that 
the perpetrators of the murder of the three innocent Americans who are 
the subject of the resolution before us today be included under the 
Department of State's Counter-terrorism Reward Program. I recently 
sponsored legislation that increased the reward under this program to 
$5 million. I hope that widely publicizing this reward in Colombia will 
speed the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this 
reprehensible crime.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to unanimously support H. Res. 181.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 181, 
which condemns the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia--known as 
FARC--for the kidnapping and brutal murder of three American citizens 
earlier this year.
  These individuals--including Terence Freitas, whose mother lives in 
my congressional district--were in Colombia only to provide assistance 
to the indigenous U'wa people in the northeast part of the country.
  Although the FARC has admitted that their guerillas abducted and 
killed the Americans, they have refused to cooperate with Colombian or 
United States authorities to resolve the case.
  This important resolution condemns the senseless murders and demands 
that those responsible for this heinous crime are swiftly brought to 
justice.
  As we condemn atrocities committed by the FARC, we must also condemn 
the numerous extrajudicial killings carried out by Colombian 
paramilitary forces. The cycle of violence that has consumed Colombia 
and claimed the lives of these three innocent Americans will end only 
when all sides agree to lay down their arms and work together to 
achieve a lasting peace.
  I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to speak about the 
disturbing situation in Colombia and the kidnapping and murder of three 
U.S. citizens, Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatok and Lahe'ena'e Gay.
  As a long-standing advocate for human rights and nonviolence, the 
conflict and violence in Colombia is incredibly alarming to me. Terence 
Freitas, an activist and student at the University of California-
Berkeley, was a constituent of mine. Ingrid, Lahe'ena'e and Terence 
were traveling in Colombia as guests of the U'wa, a traditional 
indigenous community that is nonviolently fighting to protect their 
land from United States and Colombian petroleum developers.
  Last week, along with other members of the House International 
Relations Committee, I had the opportunity to meet with Colombian 
President Pastrana. We learned a great deal about his new $7.5 billion 
plan for ``peace'', economic redevelopment, and counter-drug efforts. 
It is my understanding that the Clinton administration is expected to 
ask Congress to fund $1.5 billion of the plan, and that the 
administration's proposal may call for over half of the funds to 
support equipment and training for the Colombian police and military.
  I am very concerned about this inititive. At more than $500 million 
annually, this would nearly double the amount that our Nation provided 
to Colombia's security forces in 1999.
  Some of you may have seen the poignant letter of May 22 written by 
the mother of Terence Freitas to the editor of the Washington Post. In 
the letter, Ms. Freitas writes that she has ``watched in disbelief that 
some have used the murder of her son . . . and his two companions to 
justify an increase in military aid to Colombian armed forces.'' Ms. 
Freitas writes that she is distressed that the ideals that her son 
``lived and died for--nonviolence, indigenous sovereignty and justice'' 
have been diminished by those who support militarization in Colombia.
  I am a cosponsor of this resolution because I believe that those 
responsible for the murders of Terence, Lahe'ena'e, and Ingrid need to 
be arrested and brought to trial.
  At the same time, as we speak out deploring their murders today on 
the House floor, I also believe that it is crucial to address our 
Nation's future policy toward Colombia. Any plan, with a focus on 
increased funding for training the Colombian police and military, is 
dangerously narrow and counterproductive.
  In order to truly advance the peace process in Colombia and create 
stability for all communities in the country, we must attack the root 
causes for drug trade and violence of the FARC. This requires a more 
comprehensive policy approach to fund the elements of President 
Pastrana's plan that support economic development, human rights and an 
end corruption in the justice system in Colombia.
  I challenge all of us to examine the proposal of the Colombia 
Government with this perspective. Ms. Freitas explains that Terence 
``clearly understood that the U.S. military and training assistance to 
Colombia would bring more violence from all sides. She leaves us with 
the following message, which I would like to convey to all of my 
colleagues:
  ``If our Congressional Representatives hear any `wake-up call' 
following the execution of my son, I urge it to be this: Remember your 
high standards of justice and peace by refusing to further U.S. 
military aid to Colombia.

[[Page 23748]]

Doing the hard work of peace takes a lot more guts than empowering more 
men with guns.''

    Statement of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee Condemn Colombian 
                                Killings

                             (H. Res .181)

                            October 4, 1999

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 
181. This resolution expresses the sense of the House of 
Representatives which condemns the murders of Ingrid Washinawatok, 
Terence Freitas, and Lahe'ena'e Gay.
  On Feb. 25 of this year, three U.S. citizens--Ingrid Washinawatok, a 
member of the Menominee Indian Nation of Wisconsin, Terence Freitas of 
California, and Lahe'ena'e Gay of Hawaii--were kidnapped by the 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a terrorist and drug 
trafficking group fighting the government of Colombia. The three were 
involved in an effort to help the U'wa people of northeastern Colombia. 
The FARC brutally murdered the three Americans a week later.
  The resolution strongly condemns the Revolutionary Armed Forces of 
Colombia (FARC); notes the FARC has a reprehensible history of 
committing atrocities against both Colombian and U.S. citizens; states 
that Congress will not tolerate violent acts against U.S. citizens 
abroad.
  These American activists were involved in humanitarian efforts to 
assist the U'wa people of northeastern Colombia. Prior to their 
kidnapping, they spend 2 weeks on the U'wa reservation trying to assist 
in developing education program using traditional culture, language, 
and religion. The death of Ingrid Washinawatok marks the first time 
that a Native North American women died while performing human rights 
work among native people in South America.
  FARC, a terrorist organization that has communist ties, has a history 
of committing atrocities against both Colombian and U.S. citizens. 
Established in 1966, it is the largest, best-trained, and best-equipped 
guerilla organization in Colombia. The goal of FARC is to overthrow the 
Colombian Government and its ruling class. Following the murders, FARC 
guaranteed that the perpetrators would be punished but refused to turn 
over the murderers to Colombian or United States officials.
  H. Res. 181 strongly condemns the actions of FARC and calls for the 
government of Colombia to arrest and extradite those responsible for 
the deaths of the three individuals. Moreover, the bill urges the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation to use every available resource to see 
that those individuals responsible for the murders are brought to 
justice.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge unanimous support for H. 
Res. 181.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) that 
the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, House 
Resolution 181.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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