Report: Venezuela aided rebels

BOGOTA, Colombia, May 9 (UPI) -- Files on the computer of a slain Colombian rebel leader indicate ties between rebels and the Venezuelan government, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The files reviewed by The Journal show that Venezuela offered to let the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, use one of its ports to receive arms shipped from Russia, and may have offered to help them procure arms like rocket-propelled grenades.

"There is complete agreement in the intelligence community that these documents are what they purport to be," a senior U.S. official told the newspaper.

The FARC have been fighting the Colombian government for more than 40 years. In recent months, since the discovery of the laptop that belonged to deceased FARC leader Raul Reyes -- killed in a raid in Ecuadorian territory in March -- Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has been accused in the Colombian media of directly aiding the rebels.

Chavez has denied offering the group financial aid or sanctuary in Venezuela.

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