international

No guerillas attended meeting

Panamanian Chancellor Samuel Lewis Navarro said there were no guerillas at the Feb. 26 meeting in Panama between Colombia's High Commisioner for Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepto, and representatives from France, Spain and Switzerland.

The meeting had been called to discuss the release of people kidnapped by the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).

Four days after the meeting, the Colombian army killed FARC commander Raúl Reyes in Ecuador.

In the meantime, state security authorities began an investigation to determine whether the FARC has deposited money for guerilla activities in Panamanian banks, according to first prosecuting attorney for drugs, José Abel Almengor.

Costa Rican authorities this week seized $480 million linked to the FARC, which is supposed to have been used to finance guerilla activities in Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Costa Rica y Panama.