INTERPOL: FARC Raul Reyes laptop not modified by Colombia (updated II)

Updates: After the INTERPOL forensic report was unveil, Colombian Foreign Minister and former FARC hostage, Fernando Araújo, said it would be sent to the attorney office for its processing. On the other hand, the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, María Isabel Salvador, stated that the laptop contents have no legal validity to her country.

During a long encounter with the International Press at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stated the INTERPOL report is a "clown show". After recalling the  international press conference with the INTERPOL chief, Chavez said he was a rude and disrespectful gringo police. Chavez disdained the findings as he questioned the seriousness of Colombian DAS in past operations. He wondered how come INTERPOL appeared next to current Colombian Chief, Oscar Naranjo Trujillo, who is involved in the killing of the surviving and wounded victims of the attack against a FARC camp in Ecuador. President Chavez also showed contradictions between the forensic report and the presentation speech of INTERPOL chief today in Colombia. Finally, President Chavez decided to put under revision the current bilateral relations with Colombia. He said the INTERPOL report damages the bilateral relation with Colombia. In a further development, ex Colombian President

 Speaking from Colombia, EU Javier Solana said the INTERPOL findings were "good news" But, Venezuelan Embassy in the US, claimed the computers is used by the American government for political  purposes and propaganda. Spanish El Pais states that FARC sponsored the Ecuadorian president political campaign. It also says Chavez provided FARC with money and weapons.  For ANNCOL, the official FARC news site,the INTERPOL would not damage the Colombian government at all. They belong to the same kin. Thus, Police would back one another.

Speaking from Peru, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said that the INTERPOL report told the world his country did not doctor the FARC laptop.   

Caracas, Venezuela, 15 May 2008. Today at Colombia, INTERPOL Chief Ronald Kenneth unveiled its most awaited report on FARC Raul Reyes laptop confiscated by Colombian forces during the invasion of Ecuadorian territory on 1 March 2008. As the laptop had supposedly survived heavy bombing and firing, it raised serious doubts over its retrieved content.

According to the technical report, there were 37,872 word documents, 452 spreadsheets, 210,888 pictures, 10,537 multimedia files, 7,989 e-mail addresses and 22.481 web pages. It would take more than 100 years for a person to read all files. The INTERPOL technical report concluded that the content of the Reyes laptop was not modified by Colombia. Furthermore, It did not provide any interpretation on the content of the documents. Thus, INTERPOL did nor back Colombian allegations against Ecuador and Venezuela as FARC sponsoring states. Despite such clarification, Colombian El Tiempo and French Le Monde stated Venezuela was accused of sponsoring FARC. Colombian El Tiempo is own by the family of the Vice President and the Defense Minister of Colombia. The Santos family affiliation in the government has made their daily an unreliable news sources as it is akin to public propaganda.

During the last few days, both governments of Venezuela and Ecuador have disdained the content of the computer as evidence of their illegal links to FARC. They have insisted on their mediation role towards the release of hostages kept by FARC. OAS has also declared that documents on the computer could not be reliable evidence in any judicial court. Colombian Senator and International mediator, Piedad Cordoba, diminished the findings of Interpol. Cordoba does believe the content of the computers has been modified. 

 US Bush Administration is rather eager to use the "findings" of the report as evidence of stat sponsored terrorism. Media coverage on this direction is expected to surge in the next coming days.

Sources: Globovision, Interpol Report, VTV, Telesur, RFI, YVKE, BBC, El Universal, El Mundo.es, Unionradio, Le Monde, LA Times, Caracol, RCN, El Nuevo Siglo, Caracol, El Tiempo, INTERPOL, Aljazeera, CSM , El Comercio, El Pais, Prinside  , El Nacional, ANNCOL, Prensa Latina, Guardian, VOA,