Marcos Calarca, one of the leading FARC negotiators at the ongoing peace talks with the Colombian government in Havana, Cuba, said on Thursday former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was a key facilitator in the dialogue between the two parties.
“Without the presence and impulse of president Chavez we would not be where we are because he facilitated many things,” Calarca said in a phone interview with Blu Radio.
The FARC negotiator said the fallen Venezuelan leader never used dirty tricks to lure the guerrillas into the peace talks.
“It is not [a] product of manipulations or pressures [on the behalf] of Chavez because he would never have done that,” said Calarca.
Calarca denied accusations that several FARC units used Venezuelan territory to rest, recoup and plan attacks, while claiming the Venezuelan head of state had never actively helped the guerrillas. According to the rebel leader, the FARC’s top leadership had ordered all guerrilla commanders to keep their fighting units on the Colombian side of the border.