BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- Email messages linking the Colombian Marxist guerilla insurgency (known by its Spanish acronym, FARC) to politicians, union activists and left-wing parties overseas have revealed a network of supporters spanning several continents, and have kept tensions high between Colombia and some of its neighbors. "The FARC have been less isolated than originally believed, and have wide-ranging political contacts throughout Latin America and elsewhere," Michael Shifter, an analyst with Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Dialogue, wrote by email. While Shifter called the relationships "isolated," he said "the support network did give the FARC a sense that they were seen as legitimate by some in the international community, which in turn contributed to their self-understanding as political actors." Most of the information comes from laptop computers, external hard drives and flash drives reportedly recovered from a FARC campground located in Ecuador that the Colombians bombed and then searched in March. The attack killed Raul Reyes, the guerrillas' second in command, who acted as the group's foreign minister.
Recovered Emails Detail the FARC’s International Support
