U.S. tells Venezuela to explain ties to FARC rebels

By Robert Campbell

LA JOLLA, California (Reuters) - The United States accused unnamed members of Venezuela's left-wing government on Wednesday of conspiring against neighboring Colombia by supporting Marxist guerrillas.

Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, said files discovered on a rebel chief's computer in March contained "troubling" evidence about ties between some Venezuelan officials and guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"It will either have to commit itself to using its relationship with the FARC to promote peace or it will have to explain why members of its government are conspiring against a democratic neighbor," Shannon said in a speech in California.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of U.S. policies, has dismissed claims that his government is providing support to Colombian FARC rebels as part of a smear campaign.

He has clashed repeatedly with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a conservative and Washington's closest ally in Latin America, and has called for foreign governments to give more political recognition of the FARC.

U.S. and EU officials label the FARC a terrorist group.

The laptop computer files were found after Colombian forces raided inside Ecuador to kill a top FARC commander at his camp across the border. Colombia says documentation in the laptops shows evidence of rebel ties to both Venezuela and Ecuador.

The raid sparked a regional crisis when briefly raised fears of war when Chavez threatened to send troops to the border with Colombia.