Counterterrorism Blog

As INTERPOL completes its forensics review of the material in the FARC computers seized by Colombia in the March 1 raid that killed FARC leader Raul Reyes, officials in Ecuador and Venezuela have adopted a media strategy of continuing attacks on the government of Colombia and on the credibility of the underlying information.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro says he does not recognize documents Colombia says prove the charges and criticizes the documents as inconsistent and incomprehensible. Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador says that the documents found “prove nothing.”

But by now it is obvious that the documents are likely to prove a number of uncomfortable things about political reality in the Andes, including details on operational links between FARC and the governments of Ecuador and Venezuela. Already, contents of the laptops have been confirmed by third parties and by independent facts, including in countries such as Costa Rica far away from the physical lap-tops.

New information continues to trickle out reported to come from the FARC computers. Here’s a sampling of information from e-mails published this week in Colombia by the newspaper Semana:

September 10, 2006. Raul Reyes writes that he is looking forward to meeting someone who he understands to be representing “Mr. Correa’s presidential campaign.” On October 11, 2006, another guerrilla writes that he agrees with those who are promoting Correa’s campaign, because they are helping FARC. He agrees FARC should help the Correa campaign. On October 12, 2006, an e-mail to FARC leader Raul Reyes states that the FARC Secretariat agrees to provide aid to Ecuadorian “friends.” On October 17, 2006, a communication from Raul Reyes describes a note discussing the aid delivered to Rafael Correa’s campaign from FARC per the Secretariat’s instructions. A November 21, 206 e-mail states bluntly that FARC contributed $100,000 to Correa’s campaign, of which $50,000 came from FARC’s Eastern Bloc, the remainder by six other FARC blocs.

Further e-mails from earlier in 2008 describe meetings between the Ecuadorian Security Minister, Gustovo Larrea, coming as an emissary from Ecuadorian President Correa to FARC which included discussions of providing FARC officials protection when they were in Ecuador. Other e-mails describe coordination arranged by Ecuador at meetings in Quito of FARC “comrades” from Italy, Mexico, Chile, Australia and Ecuador who help FARC from their countries. The e-mails do not further identify the nature of the “comrades” but the notion of FARC having “comrades” in Europe and Australia is a provocative one, given that FARC is at least as much a business engaged in illicit transactions (primarily narcotics and weapons) as it is an insurgent force.