TRIPOLI - According to Croatian daily Vecernji List, Libyan rebels executed 10 Colombian mercenaries on Tuesday that were thought to be members of the FARC, after overrunning a Qaddafi compound.

A source among the Libyan rebels told the newspaper that the Colombians were part of a group of 85 who were summarily tried and executed after being captured recently.

Asked by a reporter about why the prisoners of war were executed, a Libyan rebel stated, "Those who did not die in battle, were sentenced on the spot. A bullet in the forehead and goodbye forever. These are killers, murderers, they are not soldiers, but people who mercilessly kill for money."

The report stated that among those executed were nine Croatians, 12 Serbians, 11 Ukrainians and 10 Colombians. Earlier reports said that female snipers from the FARC had been sent to Tripoli to defend Qaddafi.

Though these reports have yet to be confirmed, the discovery of FARC elements aiding the deposed despot would not be surprising. Qaddafi has had a long relationship with Latin American terrorist groups, training and funding many of them over the last several decades in training camps throughout Libya.

Douglas Farah, writing in Foreign Policy back in March, recounted, "Qaddafi's cadres trained the Sandinistas from Nicaragua, along with other Latin American revolutionary movements, and in the process developed an enduring relationship with [Nicaraguan President Daniel] Ortega. Later Qaddafi developed a close and ongoing relationship with the FARC, becoming acquainted with its leaders in meetings of revolutionary groups regularly hosted in Libya." 

Farah further stated that Qaddafi had built an close relationship with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, who has been one of the only world leaders to maintain his support for the brutal dictator even as he has been driven from power.