Three Irishmen arrested in Colombia on charges of training FARC guerrillas in explosives have told investigators have told investigators they were just tourists and committed no crimes.
The three also told prosecutors they were in the demilitarised zone, an area of land under rebel control, to determine the status of peace negotiations between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Mr Martin McCauley, Mr James Monaghan and Mr David Braken were arrested in Bogota on Saturday after arriving from the demilitarised zone. Officials have five working days to decide whether to charge them.
A Colombian government minister said this evening the arrests were straining relations between Colombia and the European Union.
"People are surprised that the FARC is not only defying the Colombia state, but also the international community, and its relationship with these [Irish] men creates a difficult situation with the EU and particularly Britain," the Colombian Interior Minister Mr Armando Estrada said.
Yesterday, officials finished questioning the men on allegations of supporting terrorism and using false identification cards, according to judicial sources.
Mr Estrada also said the peace process was in doubt after the arrest as well as the kidnapping of three German technicians and the former governor of the Colombia department of Meta.
AFPThe peace process has "been seriously discredited for Colombians," he said.
AFP