Colombia would "not be satisfied" if the three men who fled the country after being convicted of training Farc terrorists were prosecuted in Ireland only for passport offences, Colombia's vice-president has said.
Speaking to The Irish Times in London, Francisco Santos said his government would continue to seek the extradition of the "Colombia Three", even if they were punished under the Irish criminal justice system for using false passports.
Calling for the enforcement of an international arrest warrant for Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan, he also said gardaí should investigate those who helped the three to flee Colombia and re-enter Ireland.
"I am pretty sure some people in Ireland were involved in helping them escape justice in Colombia, in making them international fugitives. Are the police going to ask them about that? Are they going to look at records of travelling, phone calls, credit cards, to build a case of where they were, and who was with them? We think the police should pursue that line of action."
Mr Santos described as a "step forward" the fact that gardaí had interviewed the three in Dublin last week. "But it's just a beginning. What we are asking is, 'What is happening with the Interpol arrest warrant?' I don't know how the legal system works in Ireland, but in Colombia if there is an arrest warrant, then you arrest them and then you do the rest of the process after that."
The DPP is to decide whether Connolly will be charged with passport offences after being questioned by gardaí.
He was the only one of the three who was travelling on an Irish passport when the men were arrested in Colombia in 2001. The other two had UK passports. All were convicted in Colombia of using false passports and later received 17-year sentences for training Farc terrorists.
Asked whether Colombia would be satisfied if the men were punished in Ireland for passport offences alone, Mr Santos replied: "No, we would not be satisfied. I would have to be very clear and very frank. They did a lot of damage in Colombia.
"They taught a technology that we had never seen that killed many Colombians. We think that's too little of a punishment, considering also that that crime might not have jail time."
He added that Colombia was examining all legal options that would secure the extradition of the three men, including the signing of treaties to which Ireland would be party.
"We are working in building the case. We are looking at precedent. We are looking at really old treaties. We are looking at the UN Convention Against Terrorism and Security Council resolutions. We are looking at a whole array of legal and political possibilities. So, sooner rather than later, I think the government will get the extradition order.
"We want them in Colombia. We want them to pay their jail term in Colombia. We understand obviously the difficulties. We also understand this was not a problem of the Irish Government. I think they were blind-sided.
"But we as a community of nations, and especially democracies like Ireland and Colombia, should confront terrorism with the strictest and most expeditious and most rapid and most politically full actions."
Mr Santos renewed his attack on Irish politicians and lawyers who had lobbied him in Bogota on issues relating to the case, but who had not spoken out against their "fleeing justice".
He singled out for particular criticism Catriona Ruane of the Bring Them Home Campaign and Fianna Fáil senator Mary White, who had previously rejected Mr Santos's claim of "double standards".
Ms Ruane answered the criticism yesterday by saying "people in glass houses should not throw stones. He stands over a country with one of the worst human rights records in the world."
Asked about Mr Santos's plea for gardaí to investigate those who helped the men escape, Ms Ruane said: "I think it's irrelevant how they got home. I am just glad they are home.
"I don't know who assisted them to get them out of Colombia. The Taoiseach has said this whole issue is a matter for the gardaí and the Irish courts and I think Mr Santos should respect the legal system in Ireland. It's a matter for Ireland, not Colombia."
Mr Santos however said arguments about human rights abuses were a "smokescreen". He was in London en route to Colombia from the Netherlands, where he met lawyers at the International Criminal Court to discuss his country's controversial justice and peace law.
He rejected suggestions that the law would give an amnesty to human rights abusers, adding: "It is not a perfect law, but it really opens a way to how to deal with peace and justice at the same time."