Journo Paul Salopek Freed

As reported previously, Chicago Tribune journalist and Pulitzer Prize recipient Paul Salopek was arrested August 6 by Sudanese government authorities. He was charged with espionage and entering the country illegally from Chad. It was feared that he would be sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

Fortunately, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico got involved and, glory be, he just happens to be an old friend of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. They met a decade ago during a similar hostage negotiation situation. As a result, Richardson was able to get al-Bashir to release Salopek on humanitarian grounds. That's the official story.

Being somewhat cynical, I suggest that Richardson, who traveled to Sudan with representatives of the Chicago Tribune and National Geographic, likely had a nice wad of negotiating cash to boost his humanitarian grounds argument with al-Bashir. Naturally, I base my speculation on the simple fact that the most reliable trait of third world demagogues is an eager willingness to be bribed.