The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has written to his counterpart in Colombia about the massacre of villagers at La Union who are ministered to by an Irish priest, Father Brendan Forde.
Mr Cowen said the Irish ambassador in Mexico had been in contact with Father Forde, and he had asked the Irish ambassador in Washington to make contact with the US State Department on the situation.
Mr Cowen said he was also aware of reports that an 18-year-old Irish citizen, Mr Tristan Garcia, was kidnapped in early July in Tolima, Colombia and that his family believes he may have been murdered. He has also asked the Irish ambassador in Mexico "to use all means available to him to try and establish what has happened to him".