Two Colombian men pleaded guilty in federal court in Miami Monday to charges they attempted to provide material support to a leftist Colombian rebel group.

U.S. Justice Department officials said Jose Tito Libio Ulloa Melo, 45, and Jorge De Los Reyes Bautista Martinez, 47, entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard. Both men were arrested in Bogota in January 2006 and were extradited to Florida this year.

Ulloa admitted to meeting with federal agents posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and offered to help them travel to the United States in order to launder money on behalf of the group.

Bautista pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle aliens and one count of bringing aliens to the United States for profit.

FARC, which has been fighting Colombian forces for more than 40 years, has been designated a terrorist group by both the Colombian government and the U.S. State Department.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International




Publication date: 30 October 2007   

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