Hijackers Ashore

It was publicity they wanted, and publicity they got. Some 50 newsmen, photographers and government officials crowded the dock at Porto de Santana, a steamy little town on the north channel of Brazil's Amazon delta. Then up the river it came: Venezuela's hijacked freighter Anzoategui (TIME, Feb. 22). On the deck stood a triumphant Wismar Medina Rojas, 28, and his eight fellow hijackers--all members of Venezuela's Castroite Armed Forces of National Liberation.

For eight days the Communists had led the Venezuelan and U.S. navies a merry chase, ducking south to Brazil when everyone thought they were headed north to Cuba, ignoring U.S. Navy orders to turn back when they were spotted by search planes, finally scooting into Brazilian waters when pursuing destroyers drew near. Now, smartly turned out in clean khakis, blue berets and FALN arm bands, the hijackers made a production of surrendering the Anzotegui and its 36-man crew to the Brazilians. Venezuela would get the ship and the crew back, and the hijackers would probably get political asylum, despite Venezuelan demands that they be sent home to stand trial as common criminals. If Rojas and his boys had not accomplished all they set out to do--namely, to embarrass Venezuela's President Betancourt into canceling last week's visit to the U.S.--they had at least pulled off a caper that they could chortle over for years.

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