Ex-FARC members claim ETA trained rebels

Two former FARC members told a Spanish court that several members of the Spanish terrorist organization ETA trained the rebel group in handling explosives between 2002 and 2008, Caracol Radio reported Tuesday.

In a video conference with Spanish judge Eloy Velasco on Tuesday, the two FARC guerrillas, who demobilized in 2008, said they had been trained by ETA members while they were under the command of Luciano Marin Aragno, alias “Ivan Marquez,” head of the FARC’s “Bloc Caribe.”

Between 2002 and 2008, ETA members came to Colombia to give training courses on explosives including car and motorcycle bombs, the use of watches and cellphones as timers, and detonating R2, TNT and C4 explosives.

Velasco is investigating whether the ETA collaborated with the FARC and if the alliance of these organizations was sponsored by the Venezuelan government. In November 2010 the Spanish judge asked Colombian authorities for more evidence to support accusations that the FARC and ETA have been organizing workshops in Venezuela and Colombia.

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