The case of the three Irishmen held in Colombia could come under futher scrutiny as a government ultimatum threatening military action against Marxist rebels looms.
The threat of military action against Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) came after peace talks collapsed. If violence follows the elapse of tomorrow’s deadline, pressure to secure a prosecution and conviction of the three Irishmen may increase.
Mr Niall Connolly, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Jim Monaghan are alleged to have trained FARC rebels in bomb-making and other terrorist techniques.
The US Congress began an investigation into their activities but Sinn Féin has called for their immediate release, claiming there is no evidence against them.
The three Irishmen are being held in a high-security military prison in Bogota and are due to be either released or charged by the end of February.
Colombian President Mr Andres Pastrana extended his orginal deadline for the rebels by 48 hours to allow international mediators to make a final effort to resolve the situation.
"If by Saturday at 9:30 p.m., these efforts produce no satisfactory results, then the government will assume that this guerrilla group is not continuing talks," Mr Pastrana said in a televised address to the nation.
If there are no devlopments, the rebels will have a further 48 hours to evacuate their poitions in the south of the country.
The collapse of the peace process in Colombia is likely to lead to a resumption of hostilities between the US-backed government army and Latin America's most effective rebel group.
FARC has 17,000 members and has been at war with the government for 38 years in its effort to establish a Marxist regime, but it agreed to talks in return for control of an area in the south of the country.