Evidence has emerged of a link between the FARC and Islamist terrorist groups in the North African Maghreb after two Colombian nationals were arrested in Algeria last month by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Spanish intelligence services.

Spanish radio station Cadena Ser reported the news this week claiming that the arrests relate to events that took place in the autumn of last year whereby the Colombian nationals – one of whom is a member of the FARC – traded cocaine for arms with Islamists in North Africa.

It is alleged that the Islamists – three of whom are being held by the Algerian army – belonged to Salafi groups operating under the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) umbrella and obtained the weapons during the turmoil in Libya after the deposing of Colonel Gaddafi. Details of the weapons obtained are not known.

In a further similar development, the DEA reported last week that two more Colombians were arrested – this time within Colombia – for conspiring to trade cocaine for arms in the West-African country of Guinea-Bissau.

In recent years West and North Africa has become a key drug trafficking route between the cocaine producing countries in Latin America and consumers in Europe, and Islamist groups operating in the region have been linked to the trade. The FARC have long used the cocaine trade as a key source of income, and these arrests suggest that their activities go far beyond the Colombian borders by linking up directly with terrorist groups abroad.