FARC exposed

In a dramatic 1 March raid against a camp in northern Ecuador, Colombia's security forces killed the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia: FARC), Luis Edgar Devia Silva, better known by his nom-de-guerre, Raul Reyes. The attack was the most spectacular reverse for the FARC in its four-decade insurgency.

Colombia's violation of Ecuadorian sovereignty triggered a serious diplomatic crisis with Ecuador and Venezuela, but as the dust begins to settle, details are emerging of the information held on a laptop computer and several hard drives seized from the camp. These are providing a rich insight into the problems besetting the FARC and the extent of its relations with the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador.

While Reyes' death has dealt an important psychological blow to the FARC, the retrieval of computer equipment from the Ecuadorian jungle camp is far more important in terms of useful intelligence.

Assisted by the FBI and Interpol, Colombia's police intelligence unit (Direccion de Inteligencia de la Policia Nacional: Dipol) is recovering and examining the data stored on the hard drives. Colombia's Ministry of Defence believes it will take weeks to analyse all of the several thousand computer files but it has already declassified a sample that reveals the existence of problems inside the FARC.

An email sent by Reyes on 13 July 2007 to Angel Gabriel Losada, alias Edgar Tovar, commander of the FARC's 48th Front which was in charge of Reyes' security, indicated that secretariat member Alfonso Cano has been incommunicado. Cano, who is considered a key political figure within the FARC, has been hotly pursued by the military in recent months and the army claimed in February that it was close to capturing him in the province of Tolima.

Another communication reveals that the FARC is feeling the pressure from improved Colombian army counter-insurgency tactics. On 4 August 2007, a FARC commander who identifies himself as Daniel wrote to Joaquin, who is believed to be Milton Toncel, alias Joaquin Gomez, noting the risks posed by government forces. Joaquin, who replaced Reyes after his death, said: "Uribe's troops and their lightning operations are dangerous. If one is not careful, you are down without time to respond."

FARC leader Marulanda warned other secretariat members in an email sent in September 2007 to "only use radio devices to communicate with each other for short messages, because the Colombian military can intercept and locate their users within six hours". This email was sent only a few days after Tomas Medina Caracas, alias Negro Acacio, commander of the FARC's 16th Front, was killed in a military bombing raid in eastern Colombia.

A message sent by Tovar on 16 February 2008 alerts Reyes that the 48th Front had recently suffered some desertions and combat casualties. Nevertheless, Tovar said he was planning to detonate as many as 300 explosive devices to damage the Transandino oil pipeline, which runs through Putumayo province, over the following two weeks. There was an attack on the Transandino pipeline on 5 March, but not on the scale planned by Tovar.

Of all the information so far declassified, the most revealing is that which gives a glimpse into the FARC's relationships with individuals and government officials outside Colombia, especially in Venezuela.

The FARC's alleged links to the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez have been the subject of intense speculation in recent years.

A number of declassified emails and documents from Reyes' laptop and hard drives seem to confirm that the Chavez government was working to enhance the FARC's political legitimacy and offered it substantial financial support in late 2007 and early 2008.

In an email sent on 22 September 2007 to members of the FARC secretariat, Marulanda cites Chavez's plan to urge other governments to grant the FARC legitimate 'belligerent status' rather than classify them as terrorists - a suggestion that Chavez did not make publicly until three months later.

Numerous allegations have been reported in recent years suggesting Chavez has provided material or financial support to the FARC, although none have been supported by reliable evidence. But several emails sent by Luciano Marin, alias Ivan Marquez, another member of the secretariat, suggest an offer of financial support.

An email sent by Marquez to the secretariat on 23 December 2007 mentions he had a meeting with Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, Chavez's interior minister and his key liaison with the FARC. Marquez said a sum of USD300 million would be given to the FARC by Venezuela, and that these funds are referred to as "the dossier".

The offer appears to be reiterated or adjusted in a further email from Marquez sent on 8 February, this time citing a meeting with Chavez in which he is said to have proposed aiding the FARC by giving them USD250 million either through a black market foreign exchange transaction or by supplying the FARC with fuel it could sell.

The day after, on 9 February, Marquez informed the secretariat that Chavez wanted to thank the FARC for their gift of 100 million pesos when he was imprisoned. This would have been between 1992 and 1994, and at the time worth about USD125,000.

So far, barely a fraction of the files have been declassified, but more will almost certainly be released in the future, providing further insight into the FARC's activities, as well as material for fresh diplomatic tensions with Colombia's neighbours. 898 of 2,676 words