Sinn Fein has denied a report from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs that one of the three Irishmen arrested by Colombian police was the accredited representative of the party in Latin America.
A spokeswoman for the minister said that Mr Niall Connolly (36), who is originally from south Dublin, had declared himself to be the representative of Sinn Fein and had been regarded as such for the five years he had been living in Havana.
She was reported on BBC as saying Mr Connolly was, as far as the ministry was concerned, Sinn Fein's representative in Latin America.
However, the Sinn Fein press office in Belfast yesterday said it did not have a representative in Cuba and Mr Connolly was not a member of the party. The three men arrested in Colombia earlier this week have denied links with the Provisional IRA or Colombian guerrillas.
Mr James Monaghan, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Connelly insist they were in the safe haven of the Colombian guerrillas simply as tourists, according to a source from the attorney general's office.
The men were arrested in Bogota on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
A US State Department spokesman, Mr Philip Reeker, said on Thursday that the US would consider any links between the IRA and the guerrillas troubling.
"We would be concerned if it were established that the Provisional Irish Republican Army were assisting, sharing information or in any way collaborating with a violent terrorist organisation such as the FARC," he said.
Any relationship with the FARC or with any other paramilitary organisation "would certainly raise troubling questions". "We'll be closely monitoring any information with regard to the activities and affiliations of those three men who have been arrested in Colombia."
The three can be held until next week before either being charged or released.
Colombian prosecutors have said they are advancing with their investigation into the three men, who are accused of training Marxist rebels. The Colombian army has rejected claims made earlier in the week that it had secret film of the three.
The Government and the leader of the SDLP, Mr John Hume, have said Sinn Fein needs to clarify the republican position in light of the Colombian arrests. Mr Hume said the revelations could be damaging to the political situation.