Telesur President Andrés Izarra broadcast an interview with Telesur reporter Freddy Muñoz, who was arrested last Sunday at Bogotá International Airport El Dorado for alleged "rebellion and terrorism" by the Colombian secret police DAS.

"We do believe this case of Freddy Muñoz in Colombia could be a move of the Colombian 'para-state', the same para-state that has many a time undermined or penetrated a number of State bodies and institutions," Izarra asserted.

He stressed they fear "the Colombian 'para-state' prevails in this case and is above the legal actions of the legally organized State in Colombia." He added that penetration of Colombian State institutions by the paramilitary is "a public and notorious fact."

Izarra, who is a former Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information, said they were not advised of the facts in whose connection Muñoz was accused of rebellion and terrorism, and he remarked that an immediate action prosecutor is dealing with a case "that has been reportedly under investigation during the last three years."

In the interview Izarra broadcast, Freddy Muñoz claimed "the paramilitary have penetrated the political power (of Colombia), and I think these groups have continued to act through harassment, coercion, lies and trying to shut up the people who oppose them."