WORLD BRIEFING / COLOMBIA
An hourlong video that police found on a computer of an alleged rebel appears to confirm that Colombia’s largest rebel army gave money to the 2006 election campaign of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa.
The video shows the second-ranking commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia reading the deathbed manifesto of founding leader Pedro Antonio Marin, also known as Manuel Marulanda and “Sureshot.” The manifesto states that the FARC made contributions to Correa’s campaign, though it does not make clear whether Correa was aware of them.
The video, given to the Associated Press by a government official on condition of anonymity, adds weight to evidence found in half a dozen electronic documents recovered at a rebel camp destroyed in a cross-border raid last year. Correa has accused Colombia of fabricating the documents, despite an investigation by the global police agency Interpol that determined they were not altered.
Told of the video, Ecuador’s security minister, Miguel Carvajal, denied any ties between the Correa government and the FARC.
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