Pentagon Official Admits Lack of Proof to Link Venezuela to Colombian Guerrillas

Gen. James T. Hill, Commander, U.S. Southern Command.

The Commander of the Pentagon’s U.S. Southern Command (Southcom), General James T. Hill, talked to reporters after participating at a seminar at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS). Hill was asked about the allegations made by Linda Robinson in a recent U.S. News & World Report article, which claim that the Venezuelan government is collaborating with Islamic radical groups, and Colombian Guerrillas. “We don’t have any proof to validate that article,” said Hill.

Linda Robinson, the author of the controversial U.S. News & World Report article, and one of the panelists at the seminar, said, “I don’t want to argue with the Venezuelan Government or with the U.S. Southern Command. The proof is in the article.” Robinson’s article repeatedly cites “unnamed U.S. government sources.”

“We don’t have definite proof of any of the coordination described here,” said Hill referring to the debate that took place at the CSIS about whether or not Venezuela provides aid to Colombian guerrillas.

Colombian General Jorge Enrique Mora said that terrorists and narcotraficants use Colombia’s borders for their own benefit. “We have found FARC guerrilla camps in Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Venezuela. These organizations violate border restrictions in order to evade Colombian military troops, and they represent a threat to our neighbors.”

General Mora mentioned the numerous kidnappings of Venezuelan citizens by Colombian guerrillas, as proof of the threat to neighboring countries represented by the guerrillas.

Earlier this month, in an interview with the Miami Herald, General Benjamin R. Mixon who serves as Director of Operations at the Pentagon’s U.S. Southern Command also dismissed the allegations made by Linda Robinson.