H. Con. Res. 277
Agreed to October 21, 1998
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight
Concurrent Resolution
Whereas Mark Rich, David Mankins, and Rick Tenenoff of the
Sanford, Florida, based New Tribes Mission were abducted on
January 31, 1993, from the Kuna Indian village of Pucuro in
the Darien Province of Panama;
Whereas the wives and children of these American citizens, Tania
Rich (daughters—Tamra and Jessica), Nancy Mankins (son—
Chad, daughter—Sarah), and Patti Tenenoff (son—Richard Lee
III, daughters—Dora and Connie), have lived the past 5 years
without knowledge of the safety of these three men;
Whereas Mark Rich, David Mankins, and Rick Tenenoff presently
are believed to be the longest held United States hostages;
Whereas this kidnapping represents a gross violation of the three
missionaries’ human rights and is not an isolated incident in
Colombia where, since 1980, 83 innocent Americans have been
held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN);
Whereas the FARC and the ELN guerrilla groups in Colombia
have both been designated terrorist organizations by the Depart-
ment of State;
Whereas Colombia is engaged in a high-level conflict with these
guerrilla insurgency groups, a number of whom are protectorates
of the deadly drug trade;
Whereas the FARC has recently threatened officials of the United
States Government and kidnapped additional United States citi-
zens in Colombia;
Whereas the region of Colombia where the three American mission-
aries are believed to be held is controlled not by the Colombian
Government, but rather by the FARC;
Whereas on December 9, 1997, the President of Colombia stated
on an internationally televised episode of Larry King Live that
the FARC ‘‘in some ways have admitted indirectly that they
have the missionaries’’;
Whereas Human Rights Watch has stated that ‘‘The FARC has
an obligation to unconditionally free the three missionaries, with
all necessary guarantees’’ and Amnesty International has declared
their ‘‘request that the FARC respect international humanitarian
norms, guarantee the life and physical safety of the missionaries
and unconditionally free them and all other hostages’’;
Whereas congressional inquiries regarding the three missionaries
have been made to United States Government entities, including,
H. Con. Res. 277—2
the White House, the Department of State, the Department of
Defense, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation;
Whereas congressional inquiries regarding the three missionaries
have been made to Amnesty International, Pax Christi, His Holi-
ness the Pope John Paul II, and the International Committee
of the Red Cross, which has provided assurances that their Colom-
bian delegation ‘‘is still actively working in favor of the missing
members of the New Tribes Mission’’;
Whereas 58 Members of Congress and Senators signed letters to
eight different heads of state, including Costa Rica, Mexico, Pan-
ama, Spain, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, and Portugal, in
attendance at the Iberian-American Conference in Venezuela in
November of 1997, requesting any and all assistance in order
to bring about a favorable outcome to this unfortunate event;
Whereas no official confirmation of life or death has been made
by any United States Government entity, nongovernmental
organization, foreign government, or religious institution;
Whereas the distinction between a ‘‘terrorist activity’’ and a ‘‘crimi-
nal activity’’ perpetrated on an American citizen traveling abroad
should not be a limiting factor in terms of United States govern-
mental investigation; and
Whereas every consideration to safety and prudence regarding
action by the United States Government, foreign governments,
nongovernmental organizations, international institutions, and
other groups in this matter should be of the highest priority:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur-
ring), That—
(1) the President of the United States and his emissaries
should raise the kidnapping of Mark Rich, David Mankins,
and Rick Tenenoff of the New Tribes Mission and other Amer-
ican victims in Colombia to all relevant foreign governments,
nongovernmental organizations, and religious institutions at
every opportunity until a favorable outcome is achieved;
(2) the international community should encourage any and
all groups believed to have information on this case to come
forward to help the families of the kidnapped missionaries;
(3) all appropriate information obtained by the United
States Government, foreign governments, international institu-
tions, nongovernmental organizations, and religious institutions
should be turned over in a timely basis to the New Tribes
Mission crisis response team;
(4) a copy of this resolution shall be transmitted to the
President, the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor,
the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Presi-
dent of the Republic of Costa Rica, the President of the United
Mexican States, the President of the Republic of Panama, the
King of Spain, the President of the Republic of Venezuela,
the President of the Republic of Guatemala, the President
of the Republic of Colombia, the President of the Republic
of Portugal, and His Holiness Pope John Paul II; and
H. Con. Res. 277—3
(5) a copy of this resolution shall be transmitted to the
New Tribes Mission, Amnesty International, Pax Christi, and
the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.