Venezuelan ex-general sentenced to over 21 years for helping Colombia's FARC

FILE PHOTO: University students and supporters of the peace deal signed between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels display a flag during a rally in front of Congress in Bogota, Colombia, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/John Vizcaino/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Venezuelan general with close ties to the late leftist president Hugo Chavez was sentenced to 21-2/3 years in prison in the United States on Monday for supplying weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group.

Cliver Alcala, 62, pleaded guilty last June to two counts of providing material support to a terrorist group and illicit transfer of firearms. The United States considered FARC, which disbanded in 2016 as part of a historic peace deal with Colombia's government, to be a terrorist group.