By Hugh Bronstein
QUITO (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence from inside Ecuador was used to plan a 2008 bombing by Colombian troops that killed a top FARC guerrilla chieftain inside Ecuadorean territory, the government said on Thursday.
A 130-page report prepared by the Ecuadorean government says U.S. forces then based in the Pacific coast town of Manta helped Colombian troops target Raul Reyes, No. 2 commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The March 2008 bombing, carried out in an Ecuadorean border area called Angostura, triggered a diplomatic crisis in the region. Ecuador and Colombia are just now re-establishing diplomatic ties severed by Quito after the raid.
Ecuador has since ended its Manta cooperation agreement, prompting Washington to sign a deal with Colombia in October allowing U.S. forces to carry out anti-drug operations from seven Colombian military bases.
"The strategic intelligence processed at the base in Manta was fundamental in tracking down and locating Raul Reyes as the main target," the report says. "The Manta pact aimed at controlling drug trafficking went beyond its purpose."
Several left-leaning Latin American governments object to the new U.S.-Colombia pact. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warns it could set the stage for a U.S. invasion of his oil-rich country from Colombian territory.
Washington and Bogota dismiss the charge, saying the pact is aimed at fighting the cocaine trade and criminal groups within Colombia. The FARC, branded a terrorist organisation by Washington, is funded by drug trafficking and extortion.
The $7 billion (4.3 billion pounds) trade relationship between Venezuela and Colombia is suffering due to the diplomatic dispute.
Colombia on Wednesday demanded Venezuela's government clarify whether it tolerated support for terrorist organizations after the FARC was lauded at a forum in Caracas.
At a meeting of left-wing groups called the Continental Bolivarian Coordinator, a video message was broadcast from FARC commander Alfonso Cano. It was not clear whether Chavez officials attended or supported the event.
Bogota says two top FARC commanders have taken refuge in Venezuela.
(Editing by Todd Eastham)
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