Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin says she may discuss with her Venezuelan counterpart recent allegations that members of the FARC and the ETA were trained together in Venezuela.
Holguin will meet with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro on Thursday in the border city of Cucuta. The meeting was arranged before allegations made Wednesday by Spanish Judge Eloy Velasco that the FARC and Spanish separatist group ETA may have undergone joint training in Venezuela.
“If this becomes an issue it is likely to be discussed, but the ministers of defense will also be present and can also examine the issue,” Holguin said.
Spain has requested access to FARC guerrillas held in Colombian prisons, in order to question them about links with ETA suspects. The alleged ETA members are traveled extensively to South America and are suspected of having met with FARC guerrillas and with a member of the Venezuelan government.
Maduro said he expects the meeting to go very well, and that Venezuela “is of the opinion that this meeting … will be a large advancement so that in their next meeting, the presidents [of both countries] can present concrete plans for strategic decisions.”
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Caracas in October.
