Prosecutors from Ecuador and Colombia analyze alleged financing of the ELN

The Colombian prosecutor, Francisco Barbosa, and the Ecuadorian prosecutor, Diana Salazar Méndez, during their meeting.

(Credit: Colombia Prosecutor's Office)

(CNN Spanish) ––

The Colombian prosecutor, Francisco Barbosa, arrived this Friday in Quito, Ecuador, to deliver information with a "chain of custody" on files that would be related to the dejected leader of the Liberation Army guerrilla Nacional (ELN) Andrés Vanegas Londoño, alias "Uriel", according to the Colombian Prosecutor's Office in his official Twitter account.

The Colombian institution pointed out that this trip, whose objective was the delivery of information, is "part of the bilateral cooperation of the two entities in a joint effort against criminal organizations that affect both countries."

The supposed financing of the ELN

A week before the presidential elections in Ecuador, held on February 7, Correísmo reacted to the publication of the Colombian magazine

Semana

 on an alleged financing by the Colombian ELN guerrilla to the campaign of Andrés Arauz, candidate for the presidency for the Union for Hope (Unes) party, promoted by former President Rafael Correa.

CNN sought the reaction of Andrés Arauz through members of his campaign.

However, he has not yet responded.

This Tuesday, in statements to the press, the candidate said that "totally false videos and accusations have been invented" that his party does not intend to accept.

"We categorically reject the dirty campaign," he said.

• Ecuador: correista campaign is pointed out of alleged financing by Colombian guerrilla group;

  Correa rejects accusation

Semana

indicated that he had access to documents and communications from the person who the Colombian government allegedly identified as the head of the ELN's western war bloc, Andrés Felipe Vanegas Londoño, alias "Uriel."

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The magazine affirms that, in the reports of "Uriel" to the ELN leadership, it was reported a "loan contribution" of money to at least one electoral campaign in Ecuador for US $ 80,000, without specifying to which party or political movement .

In any case, the communications that

Semana

would have had access to would provide clues, details and data that are presumably linked to Andrés Arauz's campaign, such as the logo and campaign slogan of the Union for Hope movement, for which he participates.

Semana

mentions alleged communications from "Uriel", killed in October 2020, in which he shows interest in the Ecuadorian electoral campaign.

CNN has not been able to

independently

verify the authenticity of the documents cited by

Semana

.

CNN contacted the Ecuadorian Attorney General's Office on Friday, where it was indicated that the information provided by Colombia "will be subject to expert tests."

At the same time, he added that the Prosecutor's Office manages the reserve of the diligence so that it "is not used politically."

Reactions to the case

For his part, former President Rafael Correa pointed out this Friday on his Twitter account that the Colombian prosecutor's trip is a "show."

Correa, who has lived in Belgium since 2017, had previously described the publication of

Semana

as "infamy."

“Not even when three Ecuadorian journalists were assassinated in Colombia did they act so quickly.

It really is a shame.

They will continue with the ELN financing show during the second round, "said the former president.

Correa also considered that the publication of

Semana

is a "dirty international campaign."

And he added that "they are no longer the FARC, but the ELN."

This refers to the alleged links of which he has been indicated above and for which he has defended his innocence.

The supporters of correísmo have shown their support for the candidate Andrés Arauz on social networks.

One of them was legislator Lira Villalba, who wrote on her Twitter account: «In recent days we will see the desperate do the unimaginable.

They know that Arauz is first in all the polls.

They want to prevent the people from consecrating it.

Meanwhile, Fausto Herrera, a former finance minister in the Correa government, wrote that the press is "using foreign reinforcements."

And he added that

Semana

uses a "supposed encrypted message from the ELN" because they are "desperate."

Until May 2018, dialogues between the Colombian government and a delegation from the ELN were held in Quito to achieve a peace agreement.

This after President Lenín Moreno announced that the country was no longer serving as the headquarters for the negotiations.

Ecuador's decision came after more than a year of talks in Quito and after a wave of violence unleashed on the border with Colombia.

Presidential campaign ELN Prosecutor's Office