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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Monday said it was unaware of the capture of two Colombians in Algeria, who were reportedly operating a drugs-for-guns scheme between rebel group FARC and al-Qaida-linked militias.
“DEA cannot confirm the accuracy of this story. We have not heard of these specific arrests in March,” said a spokesperson for the DEA’s department of public affairs in an email.
On Monday, Spanish news website Cadena SER reported that two Colombian nationals, one of whom was allegedly a member of the FARC, were arrested in the North African country of Algeria by the DEA on March 21. The claim was also reported by a number of other news outlets, including Spain’s largest newspaper El Pais.
According to the report the two Colombians had, in 2012, sold an undisclosed amount of cocaine to the Algerian Islamic militant group, “al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM), in exchange for weapons to be used by the FARC in Colombia. The exchange allegedly occurred in Algeria, shortly before the commencement of peace talks in Cuba between the Colombian government and the FARC, in October 2012.
Should the report prove to be true, it would be the first recorded collaboration between terrorist organization al-Qaida and the FARC rebel group.
Sources
- Email communication with DEA spokesperson
- Las FARC y grupos vinculados con Al Qaeda intercambian cocaína por armas (Cadena SER)
- Las FARC y grupos vinculados con Al Qaeda intercambian cocaína por armas (El Pais)
