WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, says the Colombian government is making progress against narcoterrorism.
Mullen says the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, is a terrorist organization despite recent claims by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who recently called the FARC a legitimate guerrilla movement. Mullen, who recently returned from a trip to Colombia, says that the Colombian government has made impressive counterinsurgency strides against the narcoterrorist group that have undermined its support among the Colombian people, the American Forces Press Service reported.
"I was taken aback with the progress that they've made to really return the Colombian country to its people," Mullen said in a statement. "They've had a significant impact on the FARC. The FARC is a declared terrorist organization and remains so."
Mullen called the recent remarks by Chavez troubling.
"There is concern with what Mr. Chavez is doing with respect to trying to have them recognized as a legitimate organization." Mullen said.
Official say the FARC, which is still holding three American contractors captured in 2003, is a narcoterrorist group and has allegedly killed thousands in Colombia. Critics argue the terrorist group uses the drug trade to fund its militant operations.
