Spain demands "truth" about Venezuela, ETA and FARC (Roundup)

Mar 4, 2010, 14:08 GMT

Madrid - A Spanish minister said Thursday that Madrid wanted to get to the bottom of allegations that Venezuela was cooperating with an alliance of the militant Basque separatist group ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco said the allegations, by Spanish Judge Eloy Velasco, needed to be 'investigated.'

'The truth needs to be brought to light. This is the goal of the Spanish government,' the minister said.

Blanco spoke after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismissed Velasco's claims as 'irresponsible' and as part of an 'intense, orchestrated attack' against Venezuela headed by the United States.

National Court Judge Velasco on Monday charged a total of 13 ETA and FARC suspects with plotting to kill Colombians visiting or living in Spain, including President Alvaro Uribe and his predecessor Andres Pastrana.

Velasco also said there was evidence of Venezuela having cooperated with the alliance of the two armed groups. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos subsequently contacted his Venezuelan counterpart.

Chavez on Wednesday dismissed Velasco's allegations as 'irresponsible and rash' and said he had 'nothing to explain' either to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero 'or to anyone in the world.'

The evidence quoted by Velasco was based on 'supposed' e-mails in the computer of FARC's late second-in-command Raul Reyes, Chavez said, alleging that the Colombian government could have manipulated the computer.

The Venezuelan leader said Moratinos had told him that judge Velasco's claims did not come from the Spanish government.

Moratinos said Thursday the government had requested 'information' rather than an explanation from Chavez, expressing trust that Caracas would cooperate with the National Court to clarify the affair.

Spain's conservative opposition meanwhile mounted pressure on the government over the affair, with its leader Mariano Rajoy warning Zapatero over his 'dangerous friendships' with Venezuela and Cuba.