General Douglas Fraser, Chief of the United States’ Southern
Command, confirmed yesterday that the Venezuelan government has no
relation to the Basque separatist movement ETA nor the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Speaking to the US Senate, Fraser admitted that although the
Southern Command has "continued to watch very closely for any
connections between illicit and terrorist organization activity within
the region" there is no evidence to link the Venezuela government with
the armed rebel groups.
"We have not seen any connection specifically that I can verify
that there has been a direct [Venezuelan] government-to-terrorist
connection” Fraser said.
Accusations of a link between the armed groups and the Venezuelan
government were made last week by a Spanish judge who accused the
Chávez government of harboring terrorists.
Venezuelan officials have rejected the claims, attributing them to
an international effort to discredit the Chávez administration.
The Southern Command is the branch of the US military responsible for operations in Latin America.
Venezuelan Analysis
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