The Irishman Mr Kevin Crennan, arrested on Thursday as he left a zone controlled by guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has been deported to Venezuela, a Colombian official said.
Mr Crennan (37) told the Colombian authorities he had done nothing improper and had merely been teaching English to villagers in southern Colombia, the official said.
The Colombian security police said they are satisfied Mr Crennan is an "innocent traveller" and is not connected to the three Irishmen arrested and charged recently for allegedly working with rebels.
Immigration police spokesman Mr Jorge Mahecha confirmed Mr Crennan had been deported. "Mr Crennan was sent at 6:00 am (local time) to the border with Venezuela, the last country where he had been before entering Colombia on July 2."
He had been deported on the grounds that he did not fulfil residency requirements, the spokesman added.
Mr Crennan earlier told reporters he had accepted an offer of a ticket to Europe. But he was told later the Colombian authorities could not afford the cost and were giving him a ticket to neighbouring Venezuela instead.
He complained it was racist for the Colombian military to suspect him of IRA involvement just because he had an Irish passport. He said he had no connection with the terrorist group.
Reports earlier said Mr Crennan had arrived in Colombia in May en route to Peru and was stopping in guerrilla territory out of curiosity. He told reporters he wanted to "chat with them and see what their point of view is".
But Mr Crennan said he left the zone after three days because he was unsuccessful in contacting any FARC officials other than guerrillas at roadblocks.
Mr Crennan said he was an electrical engineer by training who had been working most recently as an English teacher in Mexico. He said officials had told him he was not technically being deported, but rather forced to shorten his stay in Colombia.
His discovery in Colombia will come as relief to his family, who had listed him on the Missing Irish People website, www.missing, as having been missing for seven years. However, Mr Crennan said he had been travelling the world for a decade.
AFP/PA