France says Colombia knew it was in contact with slain rebel leader Reyes
The Associated Press
Published: March 4, 2008
PARIS: France had been communicating with FARC rebel leader Raul Reyes before he was killed in a strike by Colombian security forces, and Colombia's government knew about the contacts, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday.
France, Spain and Switzerland have been working to secure the liberation of hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, including the politician Ingrid Betancourt, who holds dual French-Colombian nationality.
"In the framework of the efforts that we — Spain, Switzerland, France — were making, we had contacts with Raul Reyes, and I can tell you that the Colombians were aware of it," French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said at a news briefing. She said "many contacts" had taken place with Reyes — either directly or indirectly — until his death.
Colombian security forces killed Reyes, the No. 2 commander of Colombia's main guerrilla group, in a strike Saturday on Ecuadorean soil. Reyes was the public face of the FARC as the group's spokesman.
Herve Marro, spokesman for the Support Committee for Ingrid Betancourt, said the group was "obviously extremely disappointed and disillusioned" by the loss of a mediator.
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