Times

SATURDAY AUGUST 18 2001

IRA suspect is Sinn Fein's Cuba envoy

BY CHRISTOPHER WALKER, DAVID ADAMS AND DANIEL MCGRORY

SINN FEIN’S claim that it has no links with the three IRA suspects arrested in Colombia was exposed as a lie last night when its old allies in Cuba admitted that one of the men was working for the republican party in Havana.

The disclosure that Niall Connolly has lived and worked in Cuba for the past five years as Sinn Fein’s Latin America representative will embarrass Gerry Adams and fellow republicans who have strenuously denied any association with the men.

Sinn Fein faces sanctions from its political opponents at home and from Washington if it is proved that one of its officials was involved in terrorist activities with Colombian rebels. The main parties in the Irish Republic immediately joined the nationalist SDLP in Northern Ireland in demanding an explanation.

Connolly, 36, from Co Dublin, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley were arrested last Saturday after allegedly training members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) at a jungle camp.

There was doubt last night whether Mr Adams will now go ahead with his visit to Havana later this month at the beginning of his holiday to Latin America. Sinn Fein officials refused to divulge his itinerary but it is believed that Connolly was a key figure in setting up the trip, which included a meeting with Fidel Castro.

Observers in Belfast, aware of what Mr Adams regards as a debt of gratitude he owes to President Castro because of his backing for the IRA hunger strike 20 years ago, said that the Sinn Fein president would have to balance that against severe US disapproval if he went ahead.

Ever since the men’s arrest on August 11, leading figures in Sinn Fein have scorned claims that they worked for them. Only 24 hours before yesterday’s disclosure Conor Murphy, Sinn Fein Assembly member for South Armagh, dismissed allegations against the “Bogotá Three” as “candyfloss”. He said: “There was an attempt to try to sell one of these people as Sinn Fein representative in Cuba, which has proved rubbish.”

Diplomatic reports from Havana said that despite the tight-knit nature of Cuba’s small English-speaking expatriate community, little information was available about Connolly, who was travelling under the alias David Bracken.

But Aymee Hernandez, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said Connolly was Sinn Fein’s de facto ambassador for Latin America. She was more concerned to deny allegations that Cuba was involved in training the Colombian rebels, which she described as “a big lie”. “There is no connection between Niall Connolly’s work in Cuba, where he lived for five years, and anything he may be suspected of doing in Colombia,” she said.

Even US fundraisers for the IRA are embarrassed at allegations of links with Colombian terrorist gangs who deal in drugs. A spokesman for Noraid said: “We want more details about this entire matter before deciding anything.”

US officials were last night studying intelligence reports from Bogotá which detail how the three alleged IRA men were also working closely with Cuban agents. Security chiefs in Bogotá say they have evidence that the men were assisting the FARC rebels in manufacturing bombs and home-made mortars; unconfirmed reports said that the Cuban Intelligence Directorate was also involved.

The men, who arrived on false passports, denied any links with the Provisional IRA and told police they were on holiday. Security officials in Bogotá say the men now claim they were there as journalists.

But Colombian police said they tracked the men travelling on different routes through Dublin, Paris and Madrid using false documents before meeting at a Bogotá hotel where Connolly is alleged to have contacted FARC using a codename provided by Cuban Intelligence.

Colombian security chiefs last night claimed Connolly was the link between the IRA and various revolutionary movements in Latin America. One said that the men’s mission was to supply FARC with expertise in electrical and remote detonation for car bombs and in mixing high-powered synthetic explosives.

Copyright 2001

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2001

Answers

Aug 20

BBC

IRA suspects 'gave rebels bomb training'

The three deny links with the Colombian guerrillas

The three alleged IRA men arrested in Colombia were training leftist guerrillas in how to use the explosive Semtex, a news magazine in Colombia has claimed.

Sunday's edition of the Cambio magazine said it had incriminating transcripts of intercepted radio messages from the guerrillas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

In one of the transcripts, the FARC commander Jorge Briceno is alleged to tell a radio operator to pass a message to a lieutenant about the three men "who've come from very far away, he knows who I'm talking about".

"It's very interesting this Semtex. It's a very big thing and they have it and they know how to use it. We have to take advantage of this training for everyone... I think the best thing would be if someone from each zone came here," the transcript read.

Denials

The three men, James Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connelly, were arrested as they tried to leave Colombia after spending five weeks in an area under guerrilla control.

All three have denied any links with the Provisional IRA or the FARC.

They are reported to have told Colombian officials they were in the area as tourists or journalists.

Analysts say the alleged transcripts will add to worries in Colombia that the FARC, which is much stronger in the countryside, is preparing the skills and weapons to attack cities.

The latest allegations come as the Colombian authorities decide whether to charge the three men, extradite them or release them.

This will depend on how much evidence, if any, the authorities have gathered.

If charged and convicted, the trio could face maximum prison terms of 15 to 20 years, court sources in Colombia have said.

Two of the men were travelling on British passports, the other was holding an Irish passport.

Colombian Commander-General Jorge Enrique Mora told the BBC: "It has been confirmed to us by the authorities in Northern Ireland that they are IRA."

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2001