IRA suspect 'was Sinn Fein's man in Havana'

One of the three Irishmen suspected of training left-wing rebels in Colombia was Sinn Fein’s representative in Cuba, a Government minister insisted today.

Cuban foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque repeated his Government’s claim last month that Dubliner Niall Connolly was the party’s representative in Havana.

When the authorities in Cuba originally made the claim, Sinn Fein denied it had a South American representative.

Mr Roque was speaking at a press conference in Cuba where he said his Government was looking forward to Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams’ forthcoming visit to the country.

His comments are likely to put Sinn Fein under further pressure over the arrests of Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley in Colombia as it prepares to meet US President George W Bush’s special envoy to Northern Ireland, Richard Haass, in Belfast today.

The three men are in custody in Colombia’s judicial police headquarters following a transfer from the La Mondelo prison amid concerns over their safety.