Highlights
– Secret guerilla training camps in Venezuela allegedly being conducted by FARC and Cuban rebel leaders
– Despite official requests from legislators, Venezuelan government has taken few steps to investigate the camp’s presence
– Suspected training facilities likely to raise concern of growing FARC-Chavez relations in near to mid-term
On October 4, 2008 reports surfaced of an alleged secret military training camp led by Cuban and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) members in the jungles of Venezuela. Following months of speculation regarding suspected ties between President Hugo Chavez’s government and FARC members, the reports raise concern as to the degree of Chavez’s tacit and direct support of the FARC.
While government sources claim the camps are designed for citizens involved in governmental social welfare missions, the camps are allegedly intended to train Venezuelan citizens to be involved in paramilitary activities in support of President Chavez’s government.
While many of the details regarding the camps’ existence have not been independently confirmed, the growing rumors indicate the possibility of closer FARC-Venezuela ties that will likely anger both the Colombian and United States (US) governments, in the near to mid-term, as both nations have pledged to counter the FARC’s presence in the region.
Camp Details
The camp, believed to be approximately 125 acres in size on a closed-off tourist campground, is located a two-hours drive from San Cristobal, the capital city of Tachira. The reserve of land the camp is situated on remains accessible only through a military checkpoint, and a park spokesman stated that the campground was closed “for remodeling” until the end of 2008.
Leaders at the camp are suspected of being members of the FARC, as well as Cuban rebels. The courses run for six-weeks for a “rolling contingent of 400 to 1,000 participants,” and include political indoctrination with Cuban texts, as well as guerilla training for more “loyal students.” The physical training includes instruction in the use of light and heavy weaponry and explosives.
The participants are primarily leftist Venezuela citizens, most loyal to President Chavez’ regime, however other reports indicate that members of the Francisco Miranda Front, a Venezuelan paramilitary organization whose self-described goal is to “promote Chavez’s ‘Bolivarian revolution’” may be involved at the camp in some capacity as well. The Francisco Miranda Front has recently been rumored to be involved in several violent attacks against the president’s critics.
Call for Investigation Goes Nowhere
In April 2008, former national Congressman Cesar Perez Vivas first filed a complaint with Venezuelan prosecutors about the rumored existence of the camp. Perez, who is currently an opposition candidate in the elections for the governorship of Tachira, stated that the camp “offers training of a military type for the participants, and they select those that have a greater vocation for a workshop on asymmetric [guerilla] war, which is nothing but paramilitary training that teaches civilians to shoot and techniques for making explosives out of gas cylinders and other artifacts.” Despite Vivas’ calls for a greater government investigation into the camps, we do not expect much, if any, action to be taken to investigate the matter in the near-term.
United States and Colombia React
The continuing rumors regarding this camp will likely garner greater attention from the US government in the near to mid-term. The United States and Colombia have grown increasingly concerned over the appearance of strengthening relations between President Chavez and the FARC. While President Chavez has wavered in his public statements regarding the terrorist group, the March 2008 discovery of emails from former FARC leaders to President Chavez ignited old fears by the US and Colombia.
In September 2008, the US government accused Rodriguez Chacin, along with two senior Venezuelan intelligence officials, of aiding Colombian FARC members through drug trafficking and weapon supplies, just days after Chacin had resigned as minister. In response, the US Treasury Department froze the assets of all three men, along with General Hugo Carvajal, head of Venezuelan military intelligence.
The ongoing rumors of the camp’s existence will likely cause the United States and Colombia to give greater attention to the possible FARC-Chavez relationship. While both countries have routinely accused President Chavez of tacitly supporting the FARC, the existence of the camp could serve as proof of President Chavez’s links to the group.
