Colombia’s police intelligence released a list of alleged FARC guerrilla contacts in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia after it was published Thursday in an Ecuadorian newspaper.
The Directorate of Police Intelligence (DIPOL) released the list after its was published in Ecuador’s newspaper El Universo, detailing the list of alleged contacts, five of which are believed to be in Ecuador.
The contacts were identified after DIPOL’s tracking for the last four years of Nubia Calderon, who is considered a member of the FARC International Commission, reported newspaper El Espectador from information in El Universo’s article.
According to the ‘top sectre’ document, among the suspected FARC contacts features Maria Augusto Calle (current member of the official movement PAIS) who supposedly maintained consistent communication with Calderon.
In addition to Calle, Wilson Sigfredo Basantes is believed to be responsible for the recruitment of youngsters into the FARC’s Southern Bloc.
Additionally, Luis Hernan Muñoz Pasquel is mentioned, a former president of the National Ecuadorian Judicial Federation and according DIPOL he had contact with FARC leaders, though the identities of which were omitted.
Muñoz is reported saying that Calderon, in order to conceal her identity and FARC connections, borrowed computers and held an Ecuadorian cell phone.
The DIPOL report claimed Calderon maintained contacts with deans of major universities in Ecuador as well as with leftist newspaper editors and political leaders.
Furthermore it states that she was in charge of coordinating the movement of Brazilians, Bolivians, Peruvians and Ecuadorians into the jungle where they were to be trained in terrorism and guerrilla warfare in FARC camps.
Ecuador and Colombia are engaged in the process of restoring diplomatic relations after they were broken in March 2008 following Colombia’s bombing of a FARC camp on Ecuadorian soil.
The bombardment, known as Operation ‘Phoenix’ killed some 26 people, including Calderon’s partner Franklin Aisalla and the FARC’s international spokesman ‘Raul Reyes’.