Rebel camp deaths spark questions in Mexico

By Anahi Rama

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Reports that a group of Mexicans may be among the victims of a Colombian strike on a rebel camp in Ecuador have ignited speculation in Mexico over whether the country harbours FARC sympathizers.

Some half a dozen Mexicans are believed to have died in last weekend's attack on a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia camp that killed a top FARC commander and sparked a diplomatic dispute.

Ecuador said it was working with five Mexican families to confirm the deaths, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon has ordered an investigation into the matter.

One Mexican at the camp, university student Lucia Morett, survived the attack. She told reporters from her hospital bed that she was with several other Mexicans for an academic study and is not a member of the Marxist group.

But the incident has set Mexico asking whether it is still home to a support network for Latin America's oldest rebel group, six years after authorities closed a FARC office at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM.

"There's been a tradition of Latin American guerrilla groups being present in Mexico since the 1970s," said security analyst Jorge Chabat at Mexico's CIDE think tank, as Mexican newspapers pored over photos of Morett, in her 20s.

'NOT THERE AS A TOURIST'

Morett, described by friends as ordinary, sociable young woman, is a student at the UNAM, Mexico's biggest public university and known for its free-thinking atmosphere.