Ecuador's Correa asks FARC to validate thorny video
Source: Reuters
QUITO, July 23 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa asked the Colombian guerrilla group FARC on Thursday to affirm the authenticity of a video in which a rebel leader says the group gave funds to Correa's presidential campaign.
Leftist Correa says the video, which was released last week, was a setup and has denied receiving funds from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
"I ask the FARC, directly, publicly, to say whether the video is for real or not, to say whether they gave money to Rafael Correa's campaign, and who they gave the money to," Correa said in an interview with a local TV network.
The video, in which a top rebel commander says the FARC gave money to Correa's campaign, has heightened tensions between the Andean neighbors.
Ecuador cut off diplomatic ties with Colombia after the Colombian army bombed a FARC base on Ecuador's side of the border in March 2008.
Colombia's conservative leader, Alvaro Uribe, accuses Ecuador of not doing enough to help combat the FARC while Correa says Colombia is using the video to try to destabilize his progressive government.
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