Gerry Adams has acknowledged that one of the three Irishmen detained in Colombia had acted in good faith when lobbying the Cuban government on behalf of Sinn Féin.
Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan were arrested in Bogota on 11 August on suspicion of training members of the left-wing FARC militia and for travelling on false passports.
Following the arrest of the three, Sinn Féin had denied that Mr Connolly had official links to the party. In his statement, Mr Adams said that following an internal investigation it emerged that one of Sinn Féin’s senior members had asked Mr Connolly to represent the party in Cuba.
He also stated that he regretted and apologised for the embarrassment caused by Sinn Féin's initial response to the issue of Mr Connolly’s role. He said that the request to Mr Connolly was taken without the knowledge or authorisation of the international department or any other party structure, “including the party chairperson or myself”.
Mr Adams said that proper procedures were not employed in this case. The procedures had now been reviewed to ensure this unfortunate situation did not arise again, he said.
Mr Adams added that Sinn Féin endorsed the campaign for an early and speedy release of Mr Connolly, Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley and their return home to their families.
The statement by Mr Adams will serve to increase speculation that a move by the IRA on arms and a series of responses from the British government may be imminent. He has told RTÉ that he would be making what he described as "a significant statement" this afternoon.
