The chairman of an influential committee of the US Congress today said there was "no doubt" that alleged IRA members being held in Colombia had gone to the country to train Marxist guerillas in bomb-making techniques.
The Western Hemisphere Sub-Committee of the House Committee on International Relations has found that the IRA's alleged presence in the South American country was a "direct threat to the US and the stability of the region", according to BBC reports.
Chairman Mr Cass Ballenger said that the arrest of Mr Niall Connolly, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr James Monaghan last August had led to a significant shift in the attitude of Congress towards the IRA.
The men, who are being held in Colombia awaiting trial, are alleged to have spent the month before their arrest in a remote area of the country controlled by the rebel guerilla group FARC.
Mr Ballenger told BBC Radio 4's PM: "It just had the IRA's fingerprints all over it. I am sure that they weren't just there to have tea and crumpets. Why in the world would FARC want three members of the IRA to come visit?
"I would say there is no doubt in my mind that they were there to train the FARC as to making bombs."
Mr Ballenger said that Sinn Fein president Mr Gerry Adams was expected to give evidence to the committee at a hearing at the end of April.
"I think there is a very serious hearing to be held the week after next, which will be much more definite as to what the proof is," he said.
Asked if the arrests had increased US Congressmen's concerns about the IRA, Mr Ballenger said: "Yes. I would think that not only of the IRA, but the FARC as well. It makes it much more international."
The arrests have been a serious embarrassment for Sinn Fein, as critics have suggested that they provide proof that the Provisional IRA was maintaining terrorist activities during its ceasefire.
PA