Sweden asks Venezuela to explain how its weapons turned up in FARC guerrilla camp

Sweden is asking Venezuela to explain how Swedish-made weapons ended up in the hands of Colombia´s FARC guerrillas.  The Colombian army recently discovered several Swedish-made rocket launchers in a raid on a FARC camp and Sweden, which does not sell weapons to Colombia, says it sold those rocket launchers to Venezuela twenty years ago.

Some security experts and journalists have previously published reports suggesting the FARC guerrillas have camps in Venezuela and Ecuador.  And the latest incident has revived accusations that Venezuela´s leftist President, Hugo Chavez, finances guerrilla groups in neighboring Colombia.

Venezuela´s Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro, dismissed these claims, saying his government is not providing weapons to the FARC.

“This is a dirty and vulgar campaign. And those who are carrying out this campaign have only one objective, which is to justify what cannot be justified. That is, to justify the installation of US military bases that threaten the whole region. With these lies they want to influence public opinion in Colombia and in the world, telling them that the guerrilla in Colombia exists because a neighboring country is giving them weapons.”

Colombia and the United States are currently negotiating an agreement through which US military planes and personnel would be allowed to use five bases in the South American country.  Venezuela´s President Chavez has said this agreement poses a threat to Venezuela´s national sovereignty as it would facilitate US military attacks on his country. Chavez accuses the United States of being involved in a 2002 coup attempt against his government.