EL UNIVERSAL

The United States, conducted by President George W. Bush, voiced suspicions that Venezuela and the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) are supposedly related.

In a harsh statement against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Bush claimed that senior Venezuelan officials have met with guerrilla group leaders in Venezuela, Efe reported.

When speaking before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Bush raided on Chávez, but he would not mention his name, claiming he was "full of empty promises and thirst for power."

"As it tries to expand its influence in Latin America, the regime claims to promote social justice. In truth, its agenda amounts to little more than empty promises and a thirst for power," said Bush.

In his view, Chávez's regime "has squandered its oil wealth in an effort to promote its hostile, anti-American vision."

Further, Bush added that the Venezuelan government "has left its own citizens to face food shortages while it threatens its neighbors."

Regarding the Andean crisis that erupted following a Colombian military attack against a camp of the FARC in Ecuador, Bush said the standoff showed the region is facing an "increasingly stark choice." For Bush, there are two choices, namely "to quietly accept the vision of the terrorists and the demagogues, or to actively support democratic leaders like (Colombian) President (Álvaro) Uribe."

Regarding the crisis, the US intelligence services could inspect personal computers confiscated from Colombian guerrilla troops in Ecuador, and which allegedly show that the Venezuelan ruler has links to the Colombian rebels, according to The Washington Times.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Michael Hayden told The Washington Times that "there is no reason to doubt" what the Colombians say about the personal computers memory contents.

Hayden added that the CIA "still does not have its own copy of the contents of the laptop computer," the report said.

Colombian authorities argue that documents found in the computer show that Chávez vowed to deliver USD 300 million to the FARC -Latin America's oldest and largest guerrilla group.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during a hearing in the House of Representatives, replied cautiously to a question about the alleged links between the Venezuelan ruler and the FARC. She asserted the relevant investigation was still under way.

However, she stressed that "the Colombian government is learning a lot about an apparent relation between Venezuela and the FARC."

Rice reminded that Chávez publicly called for FARC removal from the list of organizations branded as terrorist by Washington.

Additionally, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon showed concern about the "information that has come to light so far," labeling it as "alarming" and "disturbing."

The data found in the Colombian rebels' laptops "seem to indicate a certain level of dialogue between the government of Venezuela and the FARC that requires an explanation."

Shannon would not comment on the possibility to put Venezuela in the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, which includes Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria and Sudan.

"We have to take a close look at all of the material that is in the hard drives of (late FARC leaders) Raúl Reyes and Iván Ríos and that's going to take a while. There is a lot of material," said Shannon.

In the US Congress Cuban Republican lawmaker Ileana Ros-Lehtinen asked Bogotá to share with the US legislature the documents obtained from the computers, to determine whether Venezuela should be put in the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Translated by Maryflor Suárez R.
msuarez@eluniversal.com