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October 4
Two ETA members admit they received arms training in Venezuela
Two alleged members of the Basque separatist group ETA admitted that they have received arms training in Venezuela, according to an indictment.
Judge Ismael Moreno said that Javier Atristain and Juan Carlos Besance, who were arrested on September 29 in the Basque Country, said they have received arms training in Venezuela between July and August 2008, AP reported.
According to the judge, ETA suspect Arturo Cubillas, who is a longtime resident of Venezuela, provided arms training to both men. Cubillas was charged in March in another case filed by the Spanish National Court of being an intermediary between the Basque separatist group ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), under the protection of the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
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October 6
Spain asks Venezuela to take "immediate action" on ETA
The government of Spain on October 6 asked the Venezuelan Executive Office for a more intense cooperation in the investigations related to the activities of the Basque separatist group ETA in Venezuela, as well as to take concrete actions regarding former ETA activist Arturo Cubillas, who is a senior official at the Venezuelan Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.
The request was made by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos during a conversation he had with Venezuelan Ambassador to Spain Isaías Rodríguez, reported Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega.
In a press conference at the Moncloa Palace, the official residence for the Prime Minister, along with Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzón, Fernández de la Vega said that Moratinos requested "immediate and concrete action" and said that she was confident that the Venezuelan authorities will address the request, Efe reported.
Fernández de la Vega recalled that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has reiterated his full willingness to cooperate with Spain after ETA members Javier Atristain and Juan Carlos Besance confessed that they received arms training in Venezuela.
"We have no reason to assume that the Venezuelan government is not going to cooperate," she said.
Two witnesses to testify about presence of ETA members in Venezuela
Two Venezuelan citizens will testify as witnesses before a Spanish court on the relationship between members of the Basque separatist group ETA, the Colombian guerrilla and their links with Venezuela, judicial sources reported.
A Venezuelan military officer and a diplomat will testify as protected witnesses on November 15 before Eloy Velasco, a judge of the Spanish National Court, the high court in Spain, AFP reported.
The National Court investigates the relationships between the Basque separatist armed group ETA and the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), their contacts in Venezuela and likely support from Venezuelan authorities.
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Spanish Judge believes that ETA, FARC produced weapons in Venezuela
Spain's National Court Judge Eloy Velasco, who is investigating the alleged links between Basque separatist group ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group, thinks that both armed organizations developed and produced weapons in Venezuela, as reported by Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
Judge Velasco, who instructed the Spanish police to travel to Colombia to interrogate nine former FARC members who said that they met with ETA members in camps established in Venezuelan territory, has also ordered Spanish security forces to prepare an expert report about the activities of ETA and the Colombian guerrilla in the development of new weapons.
According to El Mundo, the investigation suggests that Basque separatist group ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) shared information, mainly in Venezuela, on explosives and grenade launchers. The probe also suggests that part of the weapons were developed in Cuba, DPA reported.
The two rebel groups have used similar grenades and mortars. ETA calls these weapons "Jotake-Handia," while Colombian authorities call them "cylinder bombs."
The alleged training of ETA members in Venezuela, according to a testimony produced by two suspected members of the Basque separatist group, has stirred controversy in Spain.
Mariano Rajoy, the president of dissenting Spanish People's Party (PP), urged the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to demand "explanations" from Chávez's government.
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October 8
Spanish National Court: Extradition of ETA suspect will be difficult
President of the Spanish National Court Ángel Juanes said on October 8 that despite the international arrest warrant against former ETA member Arturo Cubillas, who lives in Venezuela, the extradition of the ETA suspect to Spain "is complicated" because he is a Venezuelan citizen.
The Spanish Judge was asked about the status of the investigation into the alleged ETA members residing in Venezuela and about the cooperation of the Venezuelan judicial authorities, but he replied that he had "no relevant news." Juanes added that the Spanish courts "are following the relevant instructions to locate suspected terrorists."
A Spanish court "issued an international arrest warrant against former ETA member Arturo Cubillas and we are waiting for the (arrest warrant) to be fulfilled. But there is a problem. This man is a Venezuelan citizen and it is legally complicated to extradite him," he said.
On October 6, the Spanish government asked the Venezuelan Executive Office to provide a more intense cooperation in the investigations related to the activities of the Basque separatist group ETA in Venezuela. Further, Madrid urged Caracas to take concrete actions regarding former ETA activist Arturo Cubillas, who is a senior official at the Venezuelan Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.
Spanish reporter tells his experience on terrorist training in Venezuela
Spanish investigative reporter Antonio Salas, who spent six years undercover as Mujahideen Muhammad Abdallah, said in a book and a TV show that members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and of the Basque terrorist group ETA were trained in Venezuela.
Salas, who now lives in hiding for the importance of his revelations, said in an interview with Spanish private TV channel Antena 3, "I met several times with ETA members and Basque people in Venezuela between 2006 and 2008."
He added that he met members of the pro-government Venezuelan Bolivarian Circles, whom he asked about Arturo Cubillas Fontán, a representative of the Basque separatist movement in Venezuela, according to a video broadcast on Antena 3.
In an interview with Infobae, Salas said, "I can prove, because I lived it, that the training of guerrillas in Venezuela is possible… But I have not a clear idea of the role of the government."
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