At the request of Costa Rica, the Colombian government issued a press release yesterday stating that up to now no information linking any Costa Ricans to Colombian guerrillas has been gleaned from computers seized in the March 1 raid on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Ecuadorean territory.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias read the press release in a hastily convened press conference yesterday afternoon.

“The files found until now in the computers of alias ‘Raúl Reyes' do not permit affirmation that Costa Rica politicians or (other Costa Ricans) have direct ties to the FARC. Lists have not been found nor is there mention of any political leader in that country,” said the communiqué.

Arias said he asked Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for confirmation of no Tico ties to the FARC to squelch “ill-intentioned” rumors that the government was covering up something with the departure Sunday of former Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal.

Berrocal stepped down after making statements that information linking “political sectors” to the FARC had been found in the computer. On Monday, Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias said there was no foundation for those statements.

Arias expressed impatience with rumors swirling that there's more to the Berrocal flap than meets the eye.

The Colombian communiqué did say that a personal date book seized from high ranking FARC leader Rodrigo Granda, captured in 2005, revealed that the drug-trafficking guerrilla group had established a nucleus of support “directly linked” to Colombian nationals residing in the Costa Rica.