A correspondent for Telesur, the television channel promoted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has been arrested in Bogota suspected of rebellion and terrorism, a Colombian police spokesman said on Monday, according to Reuters. Freddy Munoz, a local reporter for the Caracas-based channel, was detained on Sunday by DAS security police at Bogota's El Dorado airport as he returned on a commercial flight from Venezuela, a DAS official said. "He is being held at the DAS headquarters ... he was detained entering the country," spokesman Oscar Galvis said. He said officers were executing an outstanding arrest warrant for Munoz from a prosecutor's office in Barranquilla city. A Telesur representative contacted in Caracas said Munoz worked for the station, but said the company had no comment. Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe, a key Washington ally, has led a U.S.-funded crackdown on the country's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC, Latin America's oldest rebel group who say they are fighting for a Marxist state. Washington brands the FARC a terrorist organization which has used Colombia's vast cocaine trade to finance its military operations. U.S. officials often say they believe Chavez has aided the rebels, a charge he dismisses as propaganda. Telesur was promoted by Chavez as an independent Latin American alternative to international networks such as CNN and the Venezuelan leader has said the station is key to presenting his vision of regional integration. Allied with Cuba, Chavez has clashed with Washington as he campaigns for Latin American neighbors to unite and counter what he calls U.S. imperialist influence in the region. U.S. officials call him a destabilizing force. Broadcast over satellite, Telesur is a joint venture with the governments of Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay. Venezuela, a major petroleum exporter, provided most of the financing for the media start up.
