Commission To Travel To
Colombia To Seek Out
Truth Over Ties Between
Colombian Rebels and
Costa Rican Politicians
A commission headed by
vice-president and
interim security
minister, Laura
Chinchilla, will travel
to Colombian on Friday.
Chinchilla will be
accompanied by Foreign
Minister, Bruno Stagno
and the Fiscal General,
Francisco Dall’Anese to
review information
Colombian authorities
have over the
possibility of links
between Costa Rican
politicians and
Colombian rebels.
The president of
Colombia, Alvaro Uribe,
sent a detailed letter
to his Costa Rican
counterpart, Oscar
Arias, saying that
Colombian authorities
have found no link
between the Colombian
rebel group, the Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias
de Colombia (FARC), and
Costa Rican politicians.
However, Rodrigo Arias,
the ministro de la
Presidencia and brother
to president Arias,
announced yesterday
during a cabinet meeting
that the commission
would in fact be heading
south.
The commission and its
travel to Colombia was
created after comments
by the former minister
of Seguridad, Fernando
Berrocal, of the
existence of a list of
names of Costa Rican
politicians linked to
the FARC, found in the
personal computer of
FARC leader, Raúl Reyes,
killed by the Colombian
army on March 01.
Berrocal then withdrew
the claim of any such
list, which led to his
leaving the Seguridad
post a day before he was
to appear before the
Legislative Assembly to
give a full report.
The Berrocal departure
came after a meeting
with the Arias brothers.
Berrocal said he did not
resign, nor was he
fired. Neither president
Arias or minister Arias
said that Berrocal was
fired, however, minister
Arias did say yesterday
that Berrocal's
departure was due to his
statements that were
contrary to government
policy.
President Arias is
adamant that there is no
list of names and that
there is no cover up,
that his administration
is operating in full
transparency.
The files regarding any
possible links with the
FARC are now in the
hands of judicial
authorities.
The files include
reports by the Dirección
de Inteligencia y
Seguridad (DIS) - Costa
Rican secret security
service - and reports by
officials of Seguridad.
For his part, the
president of the
Legislature, Francisco
Antonio Pacheco, said
yesterday he had
received the former
minister's report,
handed to him personally
by president Arias. |
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