A FARC Document Trove

It is now pretty clear that those laptops seized by the Colombian military in its cross-border raid on FARC commander Raul Reyes are genuine (I wrote previously about the killing of Reyes here). There was little doubt as to the authenticity of the captured files, as evidenced by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa's frantic attempts at explaining away evidence of his collaboration with FARC. But now the CIA and Interpol have also confirmed that the material is genuine, and the Wall Street Journal, in a detailed cover story, assesses the level of cooperation between the terror group and the government of Hugo Chavez and what this means for relations with Colombia and the United States:

The files that have been made public so far have largely confirmed Mr. Chávez's well-known sympathy for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. But a review by The Wall Street Journal of more than 100 new files from the computers suggests that Venezuela has broader and deeper ties to the FARC than previously known.

These documents indicate Venezuela appears to be making concrete offers to help arm the rebels, possibly with rocket-propelled grenades and ground-to-air missiles. The files suggest that Venezuela offered the FARC the use of one of its ports to receive arms shipments, and that Venezuela raised the prospect of drawing up a joint security plan with the FARC and sought basic training in guerrilla-warfare techniques.

Full story here.