| Daily Press Briefing Sean McCormack, Spokesman Washington, DC May 27, 2008 Daily Press Briefing Transcript (Mexico, Colombia) INDEX:
TRANSCRIPT: Excerpts from the Daily Press Briefing of May 27, 2008, pertaining to Western Hemisphere Affairs. Full Briefing
QUESTION: Hi. Penny Starr with CNSNews. I was here on May 20th and asked about the Travel Alert that was issued, posted on the State Department’s website in April – MR. MCCORMACK: Right. QUESTION: -- and is still current as of today -- MR. MCCORMACK: Right. QUESTION: -- worrying about violence in the border states – MR. MCCORMACK: Right. QUESTION: -- and “dozens of Americans kidnapped or murdered in 2007” and you were kind enough to answer or post an answer -- MR. MCCORMACK: Mm-hmm. QUESTION: -- and also direct me to the Non-Natural Death Cases Abroad for Mexico report which I went over and I appreciate your help on that. Now, I wanted to ask, if I may, a follow-up question about what the State Department information has on the murder – homicide cases, in particular, as far as arrests, prosecutions and/or convictions. In other words, what is the State Department doing to ensure that justice is served for these Americans abroad that were – that are in that report listed as homicide – MR. MCCORMACK: Right. QUESTION: – which was 128 between 2005 and 2007. MR. MCCORMACK: Right, it’s a significant number. And certainly, we do follow up on these cases. I’ll see if we have statistics on the results of any cases that were brought as a result of charges against individuals who committed crimes against American citizens. …………………………….. QUESTION: Yes, Colombia. On Colombia. MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah. QUESTION: Do you have any reaction on the death of Tiro Fijo, the leader of the FARC? MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I’ve heard from the Colombian Government that they have asserted that he has died. I can’t independently confirm that for you. But I have no reason to – I have no information that would refute those claims. Look, it’s a – it is another potential turning point for the FARC, and they can either turn once again to violence, kidnapping, narcotrafficking, or they can try to work on behalf of the Colombian people and lay down their arms. And they have a choice to make. They have a choice to make. I know that this is yet another in a series of setbacks that the FARC has encountered over the past years – years and months. Clearly, it’s in – in that regard, they are faced with some serious challenges and they have some serious choices to make. QUESTION: Now, what could – you know, what will be the fate of the three Americans? You know, is there any hope that there’s not any change on the part of the guerilla -- and, you know, biggest question is like -- MR. MCCORMACK: Regarding the hostages, including the American hostages, they should be released immediately and returned to their families. And we continue to be concerned about and work for their release. | ||||||||||
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