Three Irishmen convicted of training rebels in Colombia must be returned to the country to pay for their crimes, the country's Vice President Francisco Santos said tonight.
James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley, fled the South America state last December after being sentenced on appeal to 17 years each for training FARC terrorists.
Mr Santos said he wanted to see the men extradited. "They were condemned. They are international criminals, they have an international arrest warrant, they should pay, be extradited and they should pay their 17 years minus three in Colombia," he insisted.
Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos
Vice President Santos told Sky News Ireland sending the men back was the least Irish
"For us, extradition is critical. We extradited many Colombians who committed international crimes all over the world to the countries who are asking for them," he said. "That's the least a country should do in a fight against terrorism and against drugs. That's the least we expect too."
The whereabouts of the three men, who were convicted in their absence, was a mystery until one of them appeared on RTE
Following questioning by detectives, it was confirmed a file would be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. One of the three, Niall Connolly, was arrested on a charge of obtaining a false passport, which carries a sentence of up to ten years if convicted.
While Mr Santos said it was vital the trio be made to pay for their crimes in Colombia, the Government has said that no extradition treaty exists between the two states, and any possible return was a matter for the courts.
"Undoubtedly we want them back. We want them to pay their sentence in Colombia for the crimes of which they were accused and found guilty," the Vice President insisted.
Mr Santos claimed that Colombian authorities were exploring a number of avenues in a bid to secure the trio were returned to South America. It is understood officials in the Latin American country are exploring the possibility of using treaties signed during the last century, and even from before that.
He stressed authorities were looking at the United Nations Convention against terrorism, and at the resolutions by the National Security Council.
"We're working on getting all the information ready so that we can open as many doors as possible for the extradition of the so-called Colombia Three," he said.
Mr Santos said he was confident they would be returned. "We certainly hope so. Let me say that this is not a problem that has been created by the Irish
"Certainly, this fight against terrorism, where democracies should stand by each other, extradition is a vital element that has to be used to combat this type of action.
"And certainly this is going to be a very important test in that regard."
Mr Santos claimed that immediately after the three were picked up by Colombian police Farc rebels began to use new explosive techniques. "We have seen many types of rockets launched, one particular rocket was launched on the day of the inauguration of this government and killed 25 people when it missed its target," he said.
"It is something that is very important to us. Those men did lots of harm to Colombia. They helped a terrorist organisation develop amazing explosive techniques that they never had."
authorities should do. television on August 5th. The three went underground again before walking into Garda stations in Dublin last week. or Colombian governments. It was created by those three men," he said.