Spanish court says Venezuela helped ETA, FARC

[naaman fletcher]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62047720100301

Spain demanded Venezuela explain itself after a judge accused the South American government on Monday of helping Basque ETA rebels and Colombian FARC guerrillas plot possible attacks on Spanish soil.

Spain's Socialist government, which at one stage had relatively good relations with Venezuela's left-wing firebrand President Hugo Chavez, demanded an explanation from Caracas.


.........................................

Must be a mistranslation

[EFerrari]

1. Hugo Chavez took my T-Bird away.

[protocol rv]

2. Ha___ha_____ha

This isn't a funny subject to be laughed at. I sure hope it won't lead to rupture with Spain, because Iberia tickets are the best deal to Europe, and there are 100 thousand Spanish citizens living in Venezuela, they may end up packing and leaving, and house prices will really drop.

[EFerrari]

4. And I hear he eats at Olive Garden with impunity.

[naaman fletcher]

5. LOL. Getting desperate I guess.

Why aren't you going with the "mistranslation" excuse or insisting that the only legit news source on Chavez is Venezuelaanalysis?

That way you don't have to laugh at terror plots, you can still pretend that your principles and ideals are decent.

This way you just look like a blind supporter of a goon.

[EFerrari]

6. Last time I heard, Hugo Chavez was partying in Bernie Madoff's mansion

with Michael Moore. :wow:

[Bacchus39]

7. she has no info to counter the charges and no reason to doubt its veracity

therefore, just pretend its meaningless.

also, more evidence that Venezuela government is linked to the FARC despite her denials.

[naaman fletcher]

8. Well that is usually the case,

I am just trying to figure out why there are not going with the "mistranslation" or "Look at what the US did" defenses.

[Bacchus39]

9. when the evidence is damning enough, they tend to remain silent

like a few days ago I posted that the government replaced an opposition mayor with a Chavista because the mayor's LANDLORD owed back taxes of $230. silence.

actually I surprised she has responded at all if you call those responses.

[naaman fletcher]

10. Where did you post that?

I can't find it. thanks.

[Bacchus39]

11. its probably way down by now, I'll bump it back up n/t

s

[protocol rv]

12. No way they can respond

Oh, they won't respond to that one. I think the government is trying to get people to demonstrate to declare a state of exception. They're afraid of the coming elections. And the water level in the dam keeps dropping, the power cuts will continue, probably get worse. This isn't about to make Chavez very popular.

This "Socialismo del Siglo XXI" Chavez style isn't working, and they are seeking a way to stay in power, that's all. Just like any other grubby, corrupt, and incompetent government in Latin America. We should ask Spain to make us a colony again, we can't figure out how to rule ourselves properly.

[Bacchus39]

14. yep, its all about retaining power. its as clear as a sunny day in Merida n/t

s

[bemildred]

15. Doesn't mention the magic laptop.

I wonder if the judge will regret letting himself get suckered like this.

[protocol rv]

16. There's the matter of Interpol

I believe Interpol gave the computer disk a blessing. This means a judge in Spain can use the information in there to call for an indictment. I'm not familiar with the Spanish court system, but presumably they do have a trial if they capture the individual, and it's up to the individual to provide counter arguments. If I were on a jury judging a man on something really serious, I would not say he's guilty based on a computer hard drive, it would require the testimonay of a person who is believable.

I am more worried about this starting a conflict with one more country, and this time the house prices will drop if all the Spanish immigrants decide to go back to Spain. We already got us in trouble with USA, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Honduras, and Great Britain...

[bemildred]

18. I'm just pointing out that the story leaves out the source of all the accusations.

Unlike other stories that manage to mention it.

[Bacchus39]

3. posting the rest of the article

doesn't seem very trivial does it??

Spanish court says Venezuela helped ETA, FARC
Jason Webb
MADRID
Mon Mar 1, 2010 1:59pm ESTMADRID (Reuters) - Spain demanded Venezuela explain itself after a judge accused the South American government on Monday of helping Basque ETA rebels and Colombian FARC guerrillas plot possible attacks on Spanish soil.

World

A ruling by Spain's High Court said the Venezuelan government facilitated contacts between the armed groups which led to FARC asking ETA for logistical help in case it tried to assassinate Colombian officials visiting Spain, including President Alvaro Uribe.

High Court Judge Eloy Velasco issued arrest warrants for 13 FARC and ETA suspects, including one Spanish-born employee of the Venezuelan government.

Spain's Socialist government, which at one stage had relatively good relations with Venezuela's left-wing firebrand President Hugo Chavez, demanded an explanation from Caracas.

"The Spanish government will act in accordance with that explanation," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a news conference in Hanover, Germany, after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The spat comes as tensions run high between Venezuela and its neighbor Colombia, over Caracas' alleged support for FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Spain's relations with Venezuela have suffered in recent years, with King Juan Carlos telling Chavez to "shut up" at a summit in Chile in 2007 after the Venezuelan repeatedly interrupted Zapatero.

Spanish oil company Repsol has significant investments in Venezuela. Spain's second-largest bank BBVA also has interests there.

ETA SUSPECT "LIVED IN VENEZUELA"

The court ruling came one day after Spanish and French police dealt a heavy blow to ETA by capturing its leader Ibon Gogeaskoetxea in northern France.

One of the two ETA suspects captured with Gogeaskoetxea had recently returned from Venezuela, where he had lived for several years, Spanish counter-terrorism sources said.

According Monday's detailed court ruling, in 2007 ETA rebels were given a Venezuelan military escort to a site in the jungle where whey gave a course on handling explosives to visiting FARC guerrillas.

"This shows Venezuelan government cooperation in the illicit collaboration between FARC and ETA," Judge Velasco said in the document.

The Venezuelan embassy in Madrid had no immediate comment.

One of those wanted is Arturo Cubillas, who has, Judge Velasco said, worked for Venezuela's Socialist government since President Hugo Chavez won elections in 1999.

FARC has killed thousands of people in a decades-old war to set up a Socialist state in Colombia. ETA has killed more than 850, fighting for independence for the Basque Country. FARC is also believed to have had training from suspected members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on bomb-making techniques.

(Additional reporting by Inmaculada Sanz and Emma Pinedo; editing by Robin Pomeroy)

»

[cqo_000]

13. Spain says Venezuela to cooperate with probe

MADRID — Spain's foreign minister says Venezuela has pledged to cooperate with a Spanish court that accuses the country of collaborating with Basque separatist militants and Colombian rebels.

Miguel Angel Moratinos says he spoke with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro and that both deny the allegations and promise to investigate.

Speaking from Yerevan, Armenia on Tuesday, Moratino says they "committed themselves to cooperate with Spanish authorities to fully clear up this matter."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hUJslK3qqz1A9au_QrqNIqDWB-FgD9E6FM4O2

[Judi Lynn]

17. The accusation that links to Chávez with ETA and the FARC is not self-sustaining

The accusation that links to Chávez with ETA and the FARC is not self-sustaining
In an impressive and well coordinated smear campaign, the Spanish corporate media has launched a preemptive strike against President Hugo Chávez. The print media included Público, El País, ABC, El Mundo, La Razón, Cadena Ser, COPE, Libertad Digital as well as the TV Channels.

The media campaign then spread world-wide to the BBC, CNN, Fox News and of course the internet was flooded with this explosive story. As usual, the finger of guilt was pointed at Venezuela and President Chávez in particular.

The devil is in the details and the following text shows how the media as well as the Spanish Judge concerned, have worked up yet another attack on the Bolivarian revolution with virtually no real evidence to support such accusations.

The first question one must ask is that if the judge indicted 13 members of ETA and FARC in absentia and Venezuela was involved in a criminal conspiracy, why are there no members of the Venezuelan government named or indicted? Read the following text and you will discover why this is the case.

Acting like a well-oiled machine the media published information in unison cut from the same cloth which formed the basis of the indictment of the judge of the Spanish Supreme Court, Eloy Velasco. Without any credible proof, Velasco accuses the Venezuelan government of cooperating in alleged joint actions of the FARC and ETA. The “evidence” comes from the computer of FARC leader, Raúl Reyes, who was assassinated during the violent Colombian incursion into Ecuador almost two years ago.

The computer in the hands of the Colombian authorities survived a missile attack which killed several people in the encampment and, by chance, confirmed all the arguments of President Alvaro Uribe to enable him to increase his bellicose internal campaign. Strange as it may sound, the “magic bomb resistant” computer has never been shown in public.

In July 2006 IT experts from Ecuador’s Polytechnic University determined that the computer had been manipulatedwhen the Colombian military stole it from Ecuadorian territory. “When accessing the information in the computer between March 1 -3 2008, the legal procedures were not adhered to”. In addition, and according to a statement by the National IT Director of the Ecuadorean Attorney General’s Office, Santiago Acuario, “from a legal and technical standpoint the information contained in the computer of “Raúl Reyes” does not have any judicial weight since it was obtained in violation of legal norms applicable in Ecuador”.

The possibility that the computer in the hands of the Colombians did not belong to the assassinated guerrilla commander is great since not even Interpol could confirm to whom the computer belonged.

More:
http://www.aporrea.org/medios/n152117