Five alleged leaders of the Basque separatist group ETA, suspected of having ties to the Colombian leftist guerrilla group FARC, are being prosecuted in Spain, international media reported.
The suspected leaders were charged for leading the international division of ETA, known as “Askapena,” which aids “organizations and entities involved in revolutionary processes or ‘national and social liberation.”
According to Spanish Judge Pablo Ruz, the alleged leaders held seminars to establish “frameworks for cooperation with other revolutionary movements and groups.” The FARC’s European delegate, alias “Lucas Gualdron,” is suspected of having met with the leaders of Askapena.
One of the documents in the case against the alleged leaders discusses events that pay tribute to who they consider “Bolivarian internationalist heroes fallen in the slaughter of Sucumbios,” referring to former FARC commanders such as Raul Reyes who were killed in combat.
This is not the first example of alleged ETA members funding and aiding the FARC. French authorities arrested one of Spain’s most wanted terrorists in June 2011, an ETA member accused of collaborating with the FARC.