The US warned last night that it would take a very dim view of any organisation collaborating with Marxist rebels in Colombia.
Reacting to the news that Colombian prosecutors charged three Irishmen on Tuesday with allegedly training Colombian guerrillas and carrying false passports, the US State Department sent a clear signal to republicans warning the status they enjoy in the US could be compromise by illegal activity.
"No one should be in any doubt that the United States would be greatly concerned about any assistance, information sharing, training or collaboration with the FARC [the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia], said US State Department spokesman Mr Philip Reeker.
The US removed the IRA from its list of foreign terrorist organizations after the Belfast Agreement in 1998. The FARC remains on the list.
