Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that while it does not agree with Nicaragua’s decision to grant asylum to Ruben Dario Granda, the brother of fugitive FARC “foreign minister” Rodrigo Granda, it will permit him to leave the country.
The ministry announced via press release that it would permit Ruben Dario Granda and his wife Elba Mercedes Aranda Urriago to exit Colombia, but said that the FARC leader’s brother was under investigation for financing terrorism, administering resources related to terrorism, intent to commit a serious crime, and rebellion.
The Colombian ministry said it had informed its Nicaraguan counterpart of the investigations into Ruben Dario Granda and reminded the Central American nation of its obligations as a signatory of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism.
Investigations into Ruben Dario Granda will continue, according to the ministry.
The Nicaraguan government officially granted asylum to Ruben Dario Granda in the first week of June.
In April, Ruben Dario Granda was arrested by police on charges of financing guerrilla group the FARC, but was released after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to link him to the rebels. Ruben Dario Granda has asserted his innocence and distanced himself from his brother’s activities.
FARC guerrilla Rodrigo Granda remains at large after he was released in 2007 on the orders of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who agreed to a humanitarian exchange – at French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s request – to aid in the liberation of French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt.