Relatives bid farewell to former FARC hostages executed
by FARC troops during a military raid (Photo: AFP)

Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe said that Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez acknowledged some years ago that he was aware of the presence of guerrilla members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Venezuela. Chávez would have told him that he would not order their capture because he (Chávez) wanted to "make a contribution to peace in Colombia."

"He even told me that he did not fight against them because he wanted to make a contribution to peace in Colombia. I answered him that as long and they had shelter in Venezuela, they would cling to the hope that violent action could continue in Colombia, and they would have no interest in peace. On the contrary, if they lose this sanctuary, they would be interested in peace. He answered me 'let me think about it,'" Uribe posted on his Twitter account, DPA reported.

Uribe (2002-2010) also said that he gave Chávez the coordinates of FARC camps that allegedly were the shelters of FARC troops in Venezuela. However, Chávez said in subsequent meetings that he had only found "traces of camps."

The former Colombian president stated that during a summit held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009, Chávez proposed him to capture Luciano Marín Arango aka "Iván Márquez," a member of the Secretariat of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in a military raid similar to the one used to capture the so-called FARC's foreign minister Rodrigo Granda.

Source: ElUniversal.com