Mexico was reeling Friday from the discovery that at least six Mexicans were present at a rebel camp where an insurgent commander was killed in Ecuador.
As many as five Mexicans were killed in the March 1 attack by the Colombian military on a rebel base in Ecuador, Ecuadorian Security Minister Gustavo Larrea said. A sixth Mexican survived.
Experts say it's the first time Mexican nationals have been known to die alongside members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Latin America's oldest guerrilla group.
The Mexican presence at the camp added to questions of a link between FARC and a spate of pipeline bombings in Mexico last year.
Mexican political analysts and police officials have said the pipeline bombings were so sophisticated that whoever did them may have received special training. Unheard-of until last year in Mexico, pipeline bombings have long been carried out in Colombia by the FARC.
The group that claimed responsibility for the Mexican bombings, the Popular Revolutionary Army, or EPR, has traditionally hit ATM machines and other "nuisance bombings" with lesser impact before strategically hitting pipelines that fed the industrial operations of automakers such as Volkswagen and other multi-nationals.
Another possible FARC link with Mexico is in the drug trade.
FARC has long been accused of raising funds by selling cocaine, and Mexico is on a major route of illegal drugs heading to the U.S. market.
