FARC secrets threaten Colombia-Venezuela relations

Secrets from beyond the grave are threatening to explode relations between Venezuela and Colombia. Documents, said to have been found with the deputy leader of Colombia’s FARC rebels when he was killed in a government raid, apparently imply that Venezuela was financing and arming the FARC uprising.

Raul Reyes was killed along with 24 other rebels at a FARC camp just inside Ecuador. Ecuador is also alleged to be linked to the FARC.

Venezuela immediately insisted the documents, said to show years of cooperation between Venezuela and the FARC, were a fabrication. But the Secretary General of Interpol refutes that: “Interpol’s team of forensic experts discovered no evidence of modification, alteration, addition or deletion in the user files of any of three laptop computers.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had his own explanation for allegations that his government was preparing to loan the FARC 250 million dollars.
“It’s a show. The foreign minister of Colombia was sitting next to the Interpol man. It was shameless.”

Chavez also said he was sure the United States was behind it. But Interpol said its officers were “absolutely certain” the files had been found in the FARC camp during the raid of March 1st.

All the apparent evidence, allegedly also showing co-operation on buying surface-to-air missiles, has now been handed back to the Colombian authorities.

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