According to Interpol computers have not been tampered

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Interpol's secretary general, Ronald Noble. Photo: EFE

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Interpol said on Thursday that it found no evidence of tampering in computers seized from a slain leftist rebel, discrediting Venezuela's assertions that the files are bogus and giving Colombia the international backing it sought.

"Interpol's team of Forensic experts discovered no evidence, I repeat, discovered no evidence of modification, alteration, addition or deletion in the user files of any of the three laptop computers", said Interpol's secretary general, Ronald Noble.

Interpol said it reviewed 610 gigabytes of data including 210,888 images, 37,872 written documents, 22,481 Web pages, 10,537 sound and video files, 7,989 email addresses and 452 spreadsheets. Noble added that Interpol is "absolutely certain" that the evidence examined was taken from the FARC camp.

Interpol's findings are sure to increase pressure on Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chavez, to explain documents indicating his government was financing and arming the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Colombian commandos recovered the three Toshiba Satellite laptop computers, two external hard drives and three USB memory sticks after destroying the rebel camp just across the border in Ecuador. FARC foreign minister Raul Reyes and 24 others were killed in the March 1 raid.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said the Interpol report shows overwhelming evidence his government did not manipulate rebel laptops showing Venezuelan support for Colombian guerrillas.

Chavez has called the documents fakes, mocking Colombia's revelations about "the supposed computer of Raul Reyes''. He denies arming or funding the FARC, though he openly sympathizes with Latin America's most powerful rebel army. He dismissed Interpol as "directed by the United States'' to isolate Venezuela. Chavez said a "show of clowns" has surrounded the announcement by the international police agency that it found no evidence of tampering with the computers.

Interpol also gave Colombia a major bonus after running 10 computers non-stop for two weeks to crack the encrypted files. Noble said it was up to Colombia to decide whether to make their contents public. The 39-page forensic report by the France-based international police agency concluded Colombian authorities did not always follow internationally accepted methods for handling computer evidence, but said that didn't taint the data.