Chavez: Interpol report a 'clown show'

Colombia did not alter computer files that it claims show Venezuelan support for a leftist rebel group, the international police organization Interpol said Thursday.

But Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismissed the findings from an Interpol report as "a clown show" and ridiculed Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble as "a tremendous actor."

Chavez issued the statement after Interpol concluded that Colombia did not modify computer files that were seized during a raid of a leftist rebel camp in March.

The items were seized during Colombia's March 1 raid on a rebel camp in Ecuador occupied by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The raid killed 25 people, including Raul Reyes, second-in-command of FARC, who is thought to have owned the files.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says the files contain evidence that Venezuela and Ecuador were supporting the rebels.

Chavez denies the allegations and claims that Colombia tampered with the files to fabricate evidence of a link between Venezuela and FARC. He also accused Interpol of trying to give "the clown show the character of scientific seriousness."

But Interpol announced Thursday that a forensic analysis of the three laptop computers, three USB drives and two external hard disks indicated that the files had not been modified since Colombia took possession of them. Full article