Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez has some explaining to do after it was revealed that he’s maintained strong ties with Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, aka FARC. I’m not an international law student but I’d have to think that supporting a terrorist organization whose sole intent is to overthrow the democratically elected government of another country is an act of war. Here’s what the AP is reporting:

Interpol on Thursday endorsed the authenticity of computer files seized in a rebel camp, announcing that Colombia did not tamper with documents indicating Chavez sought to finance and arm the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Venezuelan officials set up contacts with Australian arms dealers and arranged for missile training in the Middle East, according to the documents, which were on computer hard drives seized by Colombia and obtained by the Washington Post.

Not surprisingly, Chavez responded disdainfully:

“Do you think we should waste time here on something so ridiculous?” he told reporters in Caracas.

Chavez has denied providing the FARC material support, but did not address the issue directly on Thursday. Instead, he called Interpol’s secretary general, Ronald Noble, “a tremendous actor,” “Mr. Ignoble” and an “immoral police officer who applauds killers.”

The answer to Chavez’ first question is simple: Yes.

Colombia has been leaking details from the documents since the day after the raid. The most damning evidence against Chavez was revealed to The Associated Press last week.

More than a dozen rebel messages detail close cooperation with Venezuela, including rebel training facilities on Venezuelan soil and a meeting inside Venezuela’s equivalent of the Pentagon. They suggest Venezuela wanted to loan the rebels $250 million and help them get Russian weapons and possibly even surface-to-air missiles.

While this information is important, it pales in comparison to this information (H/T: Gateway Pundit):

Interpol confirmed documents today showing that US Congressman James McGovern, (D-Mass.), a leading opponent of the Colombia free-trade deal has been working with a go-between, who has been offering the FARC terrorists help in undermining Colombia’s elected and popular government.
Colombia is America’s closest ally in South America.

What on earth are Democrats thinking? At this point, these aren’t allegations. This information was confirmed by Interpol. As bad as that information is for Democrats, this information might top it:

The information also confirms that US Democrats were secretly reaching out to the FARC terrorists.
One document explained:

The 16 documents were published Sunday by the news magazine Semana. They also detail previously unknown relationships held or sought by Latin America’s oldest and most potent rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Another discusses an apparent effort by U.S. Democrats to have celebrated novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez mediate talks with the insurgents, possibly with former President Clinton’s involvement.

There is no evidence the FARC ever obtained surface-to-air missiles, however. Attempts to reach Clinton and Garcia Marquez were unsuccessful.

If this information is accurate, then Bill Clinton can kiss his legacy goodbye. More importantly, if that information is verified, that information would expose Democrats as conspriing to undercut a democratically elected government.

Let’s not forget Rep. William Delahunt’s negotiations with Hugo Chavez:

A subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company will ship 12 million gallons of discounted home-heating oil to local charities and 45,000 low-income families in Massachusetts next month under a deal arranged by US Representative William D. Delahunt, a local nonprofit energy corporation, and Venezuela’s president, White House critic Hugo Chávez.

In light of these latest revelations, one has to wonder if there’s more to this story. After all, this article ran in the Boston Globe on November 20, 2005. This paragraph is pure spin:

Chávez showed “an inclination to do a humanitarian distribution” of oil, and poor families in Massachusetts had a “desperate need” for relief from high home-heating prices, Schwadron said. He characterized the deal as one between “a US company and two nonprofits to help them do more of what they already do, with terms that mean the price is good.”

Hugo Chavez doesn’t do anything for altruistic reasons. I’ve got to wonder if Delahunt’s deal with Chavez wasn’t the precursor for the Democrats’ attempt to undercut Colombia’s democratically elected government.

Based on Adam Housely’s post, I’d say that the contrast between Republicans and Democrats coulldn’t be more stark:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) renewed his calls for the Administration to impose tough new sanctions on Venezuela today after Interpol, the international police agency, confirmed the validity of the contents of laptops and other documents containing information strongly tying Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his allies to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an internationally-recognized terrorist organization.

Interpol released its report early this afternoon on laptops, files and other documents that Colombian forces recovered after a raid on a FARC camp inEcuador in which a top leader in the FARC, Raul Reyes, was killed. The laptops and documents contain solid evidence that Chavez and his closest advisors have cooperated and coordinated with the FARC and given them hundreds of millions of dollars, weapons, public support and safe passage and haven in Venezuela.

“Today’s report sheds another bright light on the active efforts of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and his cronies to promote terror and instability throughout Latin America. He has used his vast oil wealth to fund terrorism in the region and make mischief in order to undermine democratic institutions and principles in Colombia and other countries.

A Massachusetts liberal tries to undercut a democratically elected government in Colombia. A Florida conservative pushes the Bush administration to list Venezuela as a state sponsor of terror.

The difference is like night and day.

Technorati Tags: FARC, Terrorism, Hugo Chavez, Interpol, James McGovern, William Delahunt, CITGO, Bill Clinton, Free Trade Agreement, Connie Mack, Elections, Democracies, Bush Administration

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. Thanks for the right-wing propaganda. I’m running for public office, and I’m using my campaign to support Hugo Chavez, who is one of the few world leaders I respect. Frankly, I think we ought to turn traitor and war criminal George Dumbya Bush over to his victims in Iraq and ship John McCain back to Vietnam.

   By the way, check out my new website supporting Hugo Chavez - Viva Chavez!

   David Blomstrom

   Comment by David Blomstrom — May 19, 2008 @ 5:24 am