ELN RELIGIOUS CEREMONY IN ECUADOR PREACHES

UNCLAS BOGOTA 010448 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL SOCI CO EC SUBJECT: ELN RELIGIOUS CEREMONY IN ECUADOR PREACHES REVOLUTION ¶1. (U) On October 30, News Channel One (NoticieroUno) reported that several National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas had crossed the border into Ecuador to offer a Catholic mass to fellow Ecuadorian guerrillas. The footage showed ELN member alias "Diego Cristobal" preaching to roughly 30 people linked to the Ecuadorian Popular Liberation Front of Ecuador (FPLE) in an unidentified village in Ecuador. (It is not clear whether he belonged to the Diego Cristobal Uribe Front, located in Norte de Santander Department, or was from another front but had assumed the name.) ¶2. (U) Cristobal asked that the guerrillas follow in the footsteps of other Christian revolutionaries like Father Camilo Torres. Torres, an ordained Catholic priest, formed a group called the United Front in 1964 and merged with the ELN later that year. Torres had called on Christians to fight inequality saying, "Revolution is not only permitted for Christians, but obligatory." ¶3. (U) Cristobal also included religion in the revolutionary rhetoric. He urged Ecuadorian participants to pray for their own safety and for fellow guerrillas during the conflict, and that "God illuminate our path." He further pushed the group to swear they would remain dedicated to the revolution. The Ecuadorians present thanked the ELN members for their visit and their interest in fellow guerrillas. ¶4. (U) NoticieroUno said the Colombian and Ecuadorian security forces that tracked guerrilla activities in the area had taken the footage. WOOD