May 13

Reyes' laptop discloses the authors of Apure massacre in 2004
According to the materials contained in the laptop property of Raúl Reyes, the second-in-command of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), and seized by the Colombian government, the FARC perpetrated the massacre of September 2004 in southwestern Apure state, where five military and one engineer of state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) were murdered.
 
The leading character of the bloodshed was presumably the FARC tenth front, and Reyes himself wrote: "There will be the need to apologize for what happened," reported Colombian magazine Semana.

The files -over a dozen internal messages of the rebels- describe some years of close cooperation between the Venezuelan military and FARC members.

May 14

Correa: "Computers confiscated from FARC prove nothing"
Regarding the alleged link between the Ecuadorian president and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) revealed in some computer files confiscated from the rebel group in a raid carried out by Colombian troops, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa claimed on Wednesday that the content of these files "proves absolutely nothing."

In Paris, the last stop of a three-European-country tour, Correa doubted about the authenticity of such computers. He even suggested that Colombians should have placed the computers in the spot right after the attack on March 1 on a rebel camp in Ecuador.
According to Colombian authorities, the computer files show the links between FARC and Venezuelan and Ecuadorian presidents. In Colombian President Álvaro Uribe's view, the files prove that FARC backed Correa's electoral campaign in 2006, AP reported.

May 15

Venezuelan Defense Minister does not trust in Reyes' laptop
Any information that may arise from a laptop property of Raúl Reyes, a guerrilla member shot dead by Colombian authorities, is a big lie and something impossible to believe, said General Gustavo Rangel Briceño, the Venezuelan Minister of Defense.

In his view, any of such information is "out of the laboratories of the North, of the super powers." He said he trusted in the good judgment of the Venezuelan people, who will be able to dismiss such version.

Amb. Álvarez denies evidence of Chávez-FARC links
Venezuelan ambassador to the United States Bernardo Álvarez said on Thursday that a report to be released soon by Interpol in Bogotá would contain no evidence of the alleged financial support provided by his government to the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).

During an interview with Efe, the diplomat did not dismiss the possibility of manipulation of the presumed evidence and hinted that there were many "doubts" about the computers seized from the outlaws.

"This is quite possible (...) Long before anybody had issued an opinion on its analysis or validity (of the evidence), the Colombian government took it out and then any kind of claims poured down on Venezuela -bold, false, exaggerated claims," he noted.

Washington Post: Venezuelan authorities offered to help FARC
Venezuelan senior government officials offered to help the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and even acted as middlemen for arms purchases, according to the files found in a computer property of Raúl Reyes and released on Thursday by The Washington Post.

The officials offered to help the guerrillas in an effort to change the balance of power in their war against the Colombian government and acted as liaison officers between the FARC and Australians arms dealers. The move was aimed at facilitating the arms purchases, including surface-to-air missiles, reported the newspaper.

According to the files accessed by The Washington Post, the Venezuelan authorities helped also guerrilla commanders to travel to the Middle East and get training in missiles handling.
 
US Gvnt: Ties between Venezuela and FARC are really worrying
The alleged ties between Venezuela and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), which were revealed in press reports "are really worrying," but there is no reason to doubt about their accuracy, according to the US government.

"The information provided by some draft reports and disclosed over the past few days is worrying, really worrying," Sean McCormack, the US Department of State's spokesperson, said in a press conference held on Thursday, AFP quoted.

The Washington Post disclosed on Thursday that Venezuelan high-ranking government officials offered to help FARC buy surface-to-air missiles to keep up the war against the Colombian government.

Interpol: Colombia did not manipulate Reyes' computers
International police organization Interpol on Thursday backed the Colombian government by saying that it did not alter the computers seized from a camp of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) during a raid last March.
 
Interpol Secretary-General Ronald Noble said that the international experts who analyzed the equipments "found no evidence" of undue intervention.
 
"The Interpol team of forensic experts found no evidence of modification, alteration, addition or deletion from the files," said Noble during a press conference in Bogotá.

May 16

Four thousand hours endorse Interpol's analysis
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) said that the computers examined by its experts belonged to the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and found no evidence that the Colombian government biased, modified, deleted or added information.
 
"We are absolutely certain that the computer exhibits that our experts examined came from a FARC terrorist camp. Mr. (Raúl) Reyes is now dead. But they were definitely his computers, his disks, his hardware," said Interpol's secretary general, Ronald K. Noble, AP quoted.

The 39-page report puts increasing pressure on the Venezuelan government as it should explain about the files which show its close links with FARC.

The Interpol's secretary general explained that 983 files were decrypted. For this procedure, the three computers remained turned on around the clock for two weeks. The teams worked 4,000 hours on the report.

"Ridiculous show" of report on Reyes' laptop makes Venezuelan-Colombian relations to be revised again
"A show of clowns, ridiculous" gave by a "gringo, aggressive, corrupt and vagabond policeman," about which "spending time on it is not worthwhile." In this way, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez termed the presentation of an Interpol's report.

The document provided by the international police organization found no evidence of modification of the computer files seized, according to the Colombian government, from the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).

At least one and a half hour out of the three hours of a press conference given by the Venezuelan head of state were used to comment on the presentation by Interpol's secretary general Ronald Kenneth Noble. The official submitted the findings on the laptops that, according to Bogotá, were property of FARC second-in-command Raúl Reyes.

"Do you think that such ludicrousness is worth spending our time?" said Chávez to answer the first question related to the topic.

Chilean government backs policeman chided by Chávez
The Chilean government "supported absolutely" on Friday the civil police chief and current Interpol president Arturo Herrera, who was accused by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez of human rights abuses.

"We support absolutely the Investigation Police director Arturo Herrera," said Government Secretary General and official spokesman Francisco Vidal during a press conference with foreign correspondents, AP reported.

Chávez blasted Interpol and Herrera because of a report submitted by the international police organization apropos the files found in the computers presumably property of Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces second-in-command Raúl Reyes. The leader of the rebel group was killed by Colombian troops last March 1st in a raid on a FARC camp located in Ecuadorian territory.

Correa denies Chávez is a troublemaker; raids on Uribe
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa Friday rejected claims that his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez is a troublemaker, and rather accused Colombian ruler Álvaro Uribe of "slandering" through a report Interpol disclosed in connection with late Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces leader Raúl Reyes' laptops, thus deteriorating relations among Latin American countries.

"We have to look beyond the forms we may like or not. Yet I do believe that some presidents in the region are more difficult than Hugo Chávez, not only in form but also in content," said Correa before attending the opening session of the Fifth Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit in Lima, AFP reported.

According to Correa "a smear campaign in under way with a goal to justify the shelling (by the Colombian Army) last March 1 (against a FARC camp in Ecuador)."