IISS: Chavez promised ‘300 million’ to the FARC in 2007

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez promised “300 million dollars in 2007 to the FARC, to whom he provided political support and access to land, according to an analysis of former rebel who died in 2008, according a release by IISS on Tuesday.

These are the main conclusions reached by the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), in its report titled “The FARC Files: Venezuela, Ecuadorand the Secret Archive of ‘Raúl Reyes'”after two years analyzing thousands of documents contained in the three laptops, two hard drives and three USB flash drives found in the FARC camp where Raul Reyes was shot  on March 1, 2008, after a Colombian bombing in Ecuador.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) implemented since 1982 an international strategy for financial support, weapons and visibility, according to the report which explores the relationship between the FARC and its neighbors based on documents whose authenticity was confirmed by Interpol.

The report stresses that although the guerrillas arrived in Venezuela long before Chavez, the relationship was strengthened by his access to power in 1999.

Source: Daily El Universo