Colombia orders arrest of reporter for alleged leftist rebel ties

Colombia orders arrest of reporter in rebel case

BOGOTA, Colombia — A Colombian court has ordered the arrest of a well-known journalist based in Venezuela on charges he conspired with leftist rebels.

Prosecutors accuse William Parra of crimes including financing terrorist activities and sedition.

Parra was press secretary for then-Colombian President Ernesto Samper in the 1990s and has recently worked with Telesur, the regional TV network backed by Venezuela’s leftist government.

Prosecutors say they have e-mails Parra exchanged with Raul Reyes, a rebel commander killed in 2008. They say that in one, Reyes asks Parra to buy missiles in the Middle East.

Parra issued a communique Tuesday declaring his innocence. There appears to be no evidence Parra ever tried to buy missiles.