Ecuador sees ties between Correa's ex-aides and FARC

[Bacchus39]

the most excellent Zorro kindly brought this to our attention.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090730/wl_nm/us_ecuador_rebels_1

Ecuador sees ties between Correa's ex-aides and FARC

QUITO (Reuters) – Documents in which a slain leader of Colombia's FARC rebel group said he gave money to former aides of leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa appear to be genuine, Ecuador's government said on Thursday.

Revelations from the diary of Raul Reyes, a top guerrilla commander killed in 2008, threaten to widen the rift between U.S.-backed Colombia and socialist leaders in the Andean region, including Correa, who criticize the United States while forging ties with Russia, China and Iran.

"(The diary) looks genuine, that's why we have shown it, but ... it's still an alleged proof, until the attorney in charge of the investigation says that it is real," Defense Minister Javier Ponce told reporters.

Reyes was a commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, branded a terrorist group by Washington.

His death in March 2008 in a Colombian bombing raid carried out on Ecuadorian soil sparked a diplomatic feud between the neighboring countries.

Colombia has long complained that Correa is not doing enough to fight FARC guerrillas who set up camps in Ecuador.

The issues raised by the diary come as the United States and Colombia negotiate a deal to expand the U.S. military presence in the country, a move that Ecuador and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez call a threat to Colombia's neighbors.

In the diary Reyes says he met with Ecuadorian officials, including former Correa interior minister Gustavo Larrea.

Ecuador on Wednesday gave reporters copies of entries in the hand-written diary, in which Reyes says the FARC met with Larrea and that the Marxist rebel group gave money to people they thought were Correa's envoys.

"The contribution given to Correa is a lease, when we don't have enough money to pay the lease, it'll be over," one entry reads. Reyes talks elsewhere in the diary about "contributions in cash to Correa's campaign."

However, Reyes also said he suspected that the Ecuadoreans with whom he had regular meetings were not loyal to the Correa government.

"They say they are friends with Correa. But at the end of the day, they work for drug traffickers, who can pay really well for their services," said the copies of the diary handed out to reporters.

Ponce said the diary demonstrates that "President (Correa) did not know what was going on. If they really happened, the negotiations took place behind his back."

The FARC has denied accusations by the Colombian government that it gave money to Correa.

[IndianaGreen]

1. Please let us know when you and Zorro marry one another

This is a mutual admiration society that deserves recognition throughout this board.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Hmm

:rofl:

Ya know some of this shit, particularly in LBN , may be best ignored and just allowed to sink. The problem with our constructive replies to the garbage is that it provides even further opportunites, for those who may be better off going back to playing with themselves, to just keep kicking with their pathetic responses.

[IndianaGreen]

3. There cannot be any sort of constructive dialogue with avowed fascists

and that's what the coup supporters are, fascists.

[Downwinder]

7. Constructive is relative. Some of it has provided excellent therapy

for my MS. Possibly typing tudor might be as good, but you take what you can get. I can't get any discussions going any more at the coffee shop or the bar; so, I come here. There is usually something available. I try to make my comments thought provoking, as much for my self as for others. I hope that I am not becoming a burden.

Edited to add: perhaps these forums should be billed as mental health group sessions, since we seem to have all of the requisites here.

[Zorro]

4. "Constructive replies"? Hahahahahahaha

However, I agree with you and encourage you from responding to LBN threads, since it's a nuisance to wade through emptyheaded, off-topic responses.

[Zorro]

6. Thanks for the chuckle

Although Mrs. Zorro wouldn't approve.

[Zorro]

5. Ecuador kinda pulled the rug out from under FARC

On Tuesday FARC denied giving funds to Correa's campaign, and on Wednesday Ecuador indicates that the diary and its entries look authentic.