Three Irish men, allegedly travelling on false passports are being held by the authorities in Bogota, Colombia.

The three men are accused of training Marxist rebels and are suspected of being members of the IRA.

They were arrested as they tried to board a plane to Paris having spent several weeks in the country.

BBC News Online profiles the three men being held.

James Monaghan

In his early 50s and the eldest of the three suspects held.

Eldest of the three suspects held

Originally from Co Donegal, his last known address is in Newry, Co Armagh

Arrested on terrorist charges in Co Donegal in the 1970s

He escaped from Dublin's special criminal court in 1976 following a double bomb blast.

He appeared on the platform of Sinn Fein's Annual Conference beside Gerry Adams in the late 1980s

He is a former member of Sinn Fein's National Executive

Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin says he knows Mr Monaghan but hasn't seen him for some considerable time

Sinn Fein says he is no longer a member of the party.

Martin McCauley

Aged 38 years, from Lurgan in Co Armagh

Shot aged 19 by the RUC

In November 1982, when he was 19, he was shot and injured by RUC officers in a barn near Lurgan

He won a five-figure sum for damages against the RUC following the shooting

He was charged with weapons possession in Northern Ireland and received a suspended sentence

He was a Sinn Fein election worker during assembly elections in the Upper Bann constituency

Sinn Fein says he is not a member of the party.

Niall Connolly

Aged 36 years and originally from Glenageary, Co Dublin

Translator for the group

He speaks Spanish and was the translator for the group

The Cuban authorities confirmed he has lived in Cuba as the Latin America representative for Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein denies he is a member of the party or that he has any involvement in the upcoming visit to Cuba by Gerry Adams.