Ecuador’s Manta military base was “fundamental” in the planning of the raid on a FARC camp that led to the death of guerrilla leader ‘Raul Reyes’ an Ecuadorean commission announced Thursday.
A 130 page report by the Ecuadorean Commission for Transparency and Truth found that “the strategic intelligence processed from the Manta military base was fundamental in tracking and tracing Raul Reyes,” El Tiempo reported Thursday.
At the time of the raid on the FARC camp the Manta base was operated by the U.S. military, who had jurisdiction over narcotics control which “they far exceeded”, according to the report.
Ecuador has since ended its agreement with the U.S, prompting Washington to sign a controversial pact with Colombia in which gives the U.S. military access to seven Colombian military bases.
The same report ruled out any ties between the FARC and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, but acknowledged that Ecuadorean officials or former officials may have been involved with the guerrilla group.
“If it turns out that there are people linked to the [Ecuadorean] government who may have had knowledge of the guerrilla camp, it will become known,” Ecuador’s Security Minister Miguel Carvajal told EFE.
Carvajal added that if any current or former government officials were “responsible then they should be arrested and tried”.
The report will be officially presented next week.
Guerrilla leader ‘Raul Reyes’ was killed when the Colombian military bombarded a FARC camp on Ecuadorean soil on March 1, 2008.
Diplomatic relations between Bogota and Caracas were fractured following Colombia’s military incursion, which resulted in the death of 24 others, including an Ecuadorean.
An Ecuadorean court had requested the extradition of former Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos in connection with the bombing raid. The request has since officially been withdrawn.
Diplomatic relations between the neighboring nations were only reinstated in late November with the reopening of embassies in Bogota and Quito.
