Monday, June 2, 2008

Spain to examine alleged ETA-FARC link

Authorities in Spain will examine alleged ties between the militant Basque separatist group ETA and Colombia’s FARC guerillas. According to a report on Monday by AFP, Spanish prosecutors will send an “investigative commission” to check on any claims between the FARC and ETA as well as other Basque separatist factions.

An article last week cited a Spanish daily that claimed that Venezuelan authorities were conducting their own investigation into possible ETA-FARC links. Last Friday, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos claimed that the FARC had sought to “forge an alliance” with ETA:

Santos said ""the FARC's contacts with ETA and drug traffickers exporting cocaine to Europe are not new, and when they are secure in Colombia, they try to do harm overseas,"" which, he claimed, was the rebels' goal.

The accusations made by Santos mirrors those made by Colombia’s defense minister based on the laptops seized during a controversial military strike in March.

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo, Univision

Sources- Tehran Times, Typically Spanish, BBC News

Image- BBC News (Graffiti sympathetic with ETA)

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