Dear Friends,

Today, INTERPOL released its forensic report on the contents of hard drives allegedly seized by the Colombian military from the FARC camp it bombed in Ecuador on March 1st.  The U.S. media has taking the report completely out of context.  Although INTERPOL did not gauge the accuracy of the information on the hard drives, the press is using it to accuse Venezuela of supporting terrorism.

INTERPOL's report DOES NOT back up the Colombian government's attacks on Venezuela
 
The report clearly states: "the scope of INTERPOL's computer forensic examination was limited to (a) determining the actual data contained in the eight seized FARC computer exhibits, (b) verifying whether the user files had been modified in any way on or after 1 March 2008, and (c) determining whether Colombian law enforcement authorities had handled and examined the eight seized FARC computer exhibits in conformity with internationally recognized principles."

INTERPOL's stated intention "was not to evaluate the accuracy or the source of the exhibits' content."  Therefore, the investigation "did not include the analysis of the content of documents, folders or other material on the eight seized FARC computer exhibits."
Read the press release about the report
Read the complete report

MISINFORMING THE PUBLIC
It is important to understand that in the U.S., the contents of the laptops have been strategically released to the press by Colombian officials to build a case against Venezuela.  This fact was seen in today's article by Juan Forero in the Washington Post, which includes the allegation that Venezuela would have helped the FARC acquire missiles. 

The fact is that INTERPOL'S forensic examination of the laptops found no evidence that they had been altered after March 1st, but did not determine their accuracy or source.  Media accounts have nonetheless taken the Colombian officials at their word, while assigning guilt to Venezuela despite a lack of proof.

For more information on Venezuela's efforts against terrorism, please read the VIO factsheet

TAKE ACTION:
Contact your local newspapers and your Congressional Representative today and tell them that INTERPOL's forensic examination does not condemn Venezuela as State sponsored of terrorism nor validates accusations made by the government of Colombia.

 For further questions, please contact the VIO Team!

Received from the Venezuelan Information Office at Axis of Logic.