The chief of the US military's Southern Command, General Douglas Fraser, said that he had not evidence of any links between Venezuela; the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Colombian guerrilla group; and the Basque separatist group ETA.

However, he admitted that the US Southern Command is "watching very closely." He did not provide further details of the military monitoring operation in Venezuela, the state-run news agency Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN) reported.

"We have not seen any connections specifically that I can verify that there has been a direct government-to-terrorist connection," Fraser said. This was the description he used to refer to the groups which international media have insistently tried to link with the government of President for Hugo Chávez Frías, ABN said.

Fraser's comments were made in a US Senate hearing.

A judge of the Spanish National Court commenced an investigation to establish alleged Venezuela's participation in the relation between the Colombian guerrillas and the Basque separatist group País Vasco y Libertad (ETA).