How Hugo Chavez Courted FARC

Spiegel ^ | 6/4/08 | By Jens Glüsing

[DeaconBenjamin]

They called him "Angel." He was the highest-ranking outside contact for the Colombian guerilla organization FARC. More and more details are now emerging that demonstrate the close relationship between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the jungle terrorists.

* * *

The death of its leader is the most recent in a string of serious blows to FARC. In early March, the Colombian military killed Raul Reyes, the group's second-in-command, in an air attack. A few days later, Ivan Rios, a commander, was killed by a bodyguard hoping to collect a bounty that had been offered for the guerilla leader. Finally, two weeks ago, "Karina," one of the most brutal and respected of FARC's female guerillas, turned herself in to authorities. She is believed to be responsible for the murder of the father of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

The rebels are now more dependent than ever on their guardian angel, Hugo Chavez. But Chavez is maintaining a low profile. After Reyes's death, he urged the Venezuelan congress to observe a minute of silence, and he even sent troops to the Colombian border in an attempt to intimidate Venezuela's neighbor. But he offered no comment, at least initially, on Marulanda's death. At the Latin America-European Union summit in Peru two weeks ago, "Angel" sought to portray himself as a man of peace.

With his back to the wall, Chavez is trying to ingratiate himself with his counterparts once again. Hundreds of e-mails on Reyes's laptops, many of which SPIEGEL has obtained, expose him as an accomplice of the narco-terrorist guerilla organization. Washington has already expressed its "concern" over Chavez's alliance with the rebel group, which is listed as a terrorist organization in both the United States and the European Union.

[DeaconBenjamin]

The story is not going away.

[GodGunsGuts]

...

[Bender2]