A Colombian official said the United States played a role in the capture.
Ecuadorean Police Chief Jorge Poveda confirmed that Simon Trinidad was detained late Friday. He did not give any details about what Trinidad was doing in Ecuador or how long he had been there.
Trinidad is a member of the general staff of the 16,000-member Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the largest rebel group in Colombia. He was one of the top negotiators during peace talks with the government that began in January 1999. The talks collapsed in February 2002, and the army resumed operations against the FARC.
"Long live the FARC!" Trinidad shouted while being escorted under heavy police guard to an army helicopter that left for Tulcan, a city on the Colombian border.***
As U.S. officials see it, the alliance combines Cuban President Fidel Castro's political savvy with surplus cash that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez obtains from oil exports.
Venezuelan resources may have been decisive in the ouster of Bolivia's elected, pro-American president, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A key recipient of Venezuelan help has been Evo Morales, a charismatic Bolivian legislator who has broad support among his country's indigenous population. He is an avowed opponent of the capitalist system.
Before Sanchez de Lozada was deposed, one official said, Venezuela's military attache in Bolivia was expelled for giving money to Morales, and Morales received money from Venezuelan officials in a visit to Caracas.
There also has been evidence of Venezuelan money and manpower in Ecuador and Uruguay being used in support of anti-government groups, the officials said. Despite Venezuelan denials, they said, Chavez has supported Colombia's FARC and ELN rebels, allowing use of territory in western Venezuela as a springboard for attacks inside Colombia.
In Caracas on Monday, Tarek William Saab, the pro-Chavez head of Venezuela's congressional foreign relations commission, denied that Venezuela was supporting FARC rebels or was meddling in Bolivia's internal affairs. Saab accused the U.S. government of "using slander and defamation to weaken a constitutional government like ours."
"It's false and irresponsible and cowardly," Saab said.
U.S. officials said Castro has been providing training, advice and logistical support to leftist groups in the region, a sign of re-engagement after relative inactivity in the 1990s.
Roger Noriega, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites)'s top aide for Latin America, said Friday that the 77-year-old Castro, in his "final days," appears to be "nostalgic for destabilizing elected governments. From the point of view of his democratic neighbors, Castro's actions are increasingly provocative."***