A former member of the FARC rebels, who is currently serving a prison term for his activities, has told a court in the Colombian capital how he witnessed three foreigners of unspecified origin giving instruction in terrorism in the so-called demilitarised zone, formerly controlled by FARC, in February 2001.
Edwin Giovanni Rodriguez (25), was testifying at the trial of Mr James Monaghan (56), Mr Martin McCauley (40), and Mr Niall Connolly (36), who were arrested in August 2001. They were charged with training the FARC in IRA bomb-making techniques and using false passports. Rodriguez arrived yesterday under heavy armed guard and appeared to be wearing a flak jacket beneath his sweater. A security officer stood behind him with a submachine-gun as he gave evidence. There were about a dozen armed security guards in the small courtroom. As observers from Ireland, Australia and the US arrived for the hearing, they were closely harried by protesters chanting anti-IRA slogans.
Rodriguez told the court he could not read or write. From the age of 12 he had worked on a coca leaf plantation (the raw material for the illegal drug cocaine). He said he was drunk when recruited to the FARC in 1999. He said he was married with one child, a boy aged six years. His wife and child had disappeared since last Sunday. He did not know if "they" (FARC) had kidnapped them "but if they have, it is because they know I love her and my son". Nevertheless he would continue to "say what I have to say".
When the names of the three accused men were read out to him, he said he found it "complicated" to identify them because of his lack of education.
However, he said he had been an unpaid driver for one of the FARC leaders, Mr Jorge Briceno, and had heard him mention the names in relation to training in explosives.
He recalled meeting a tall, white-skinned, white-haired foreigner aged between 49 and 50 in the FARC zone, but he did not know his country of origin. He described two other men and said he recognised the three of them on television later when they were captured, which he thought was about April, 2001.
When the men were captured, Mr Briceno told a gathering of FARC members: "They have already given us what we wanted and from now on they are on their own."
He was told by Mr Briceno to pick up the tall white-haired man on February 5th, 2001. The man was on his own at the time and had no luggage other than a briefcase. Rodriguez was under instructions not to speak to him. He took the man to a FARC military camp and frequently saw him afterwards, as the man was teaching at the camp from February 5th to 25th.
The teaching, Rodriguez continued, took place in a classroom which held 120 people and he had to stand guard there every day.
The basic subject was explosives and mortars, including one which could be used to bring down aircraft. At the end of the course, tests were carried out on mortars and grenades as well as bombs which could be activated by remote control. After that, the man got into a car with Mr Briceno and he never saw him again.
In the classroom he also saw two other foreigners, a man of 35 years with black hair who gave instructions on "cars to be used as bombs" and another man, also 35, who had black hair but was clean-shaven. They also attended the tests.
He recalled Mr Briceno talking about other visitors to the FARC zone; these were said to be from Ireland and he was told they were going to transport meat but he believed this was a lie.
Rodriguez said he learned to drive a year before joining FARC but the person who taught him was dead and he could not remember his name. He ceased to be Mr Briceno's driver when he was placed in detention by FARC after he got drunk and crashed the car.
He later became a squadron commander and was taking part in an operation near Villavicencio when he decided to desert. He hid under a bridge and then gave himself up to the Colombian army with his weapons.
However, he was jailed for rebellion and had now served 15 months of a four-year sentence.
Before giving evidence, Rodriguez received a visit from a man who "tried to make me believe he was a lawyer" who asked him how he was going to testify on the "Irish" case. He was advised not to "become abrupt".
He had also received two threatening letters from FARC but had not brought them to court. Another former member had told him that a hearing on his case had been held by FARC and it had voted to make him a military target. "They will kill me whenever or wherever they see me."
The trial resumes for three days from March 26th, when defence witnesses will be heard.