The Colombian Ministry of Justice has temporarily refused a demand that three Irishmen should be moved to a remote prison 16 hours drive north of the capital, Bogota.
The refusal of the Public Prosecutor's call comes just days before the week-long visit there of former minister for foreign affairs, Mr David Andrews.
The three, Mr James Monaghan, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Niall Connolly, have been in custody since they were arrested last August trying to leave Bogota Airport using false passports.
The Colombian authorities allege that the three had spent time in southern Colombia training Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.
The Colombian Attorney General's office has confirmed receiving new evidence from deserters from the FARC guerrilla group that they allegedly received training from the three Irish citizens detained in Bogota last August, a respected US business newsletter on Colombia reports.
Sources on Capitol Hill say that investigations into the relationship between the IRA and FARC continue to be pursued by the House International Affairs Committee, whose staff are understood to have been told about the defectors.
The committee's report is not expected to be completed before March, when a final decision will be taken about whether to hold public hearings on the issue. If it does, it is likely that testimony from defectors would be sought.
The report, in IC Executive Summary, also claims that Irish police who visited Colombia in December to inquire into the case have compared maps and manuals found on the three arrested men to manuals used by the IRA.
Meanwhile, attempts by Irish-American sympathisers of Sinn Féin to stop the possibility of hearings have been firmly rejected by the committee's chairman, Mr Henry Hyde.
The demand to transfer the men to Valledupar created a major row between the Public Prosecutor, and the Ministry for Justice and the country's prison service.
The Public Prosecutor, Mr Guillermo Mendoza Diago had alleged that there was "a manifest possibility" that an escape bid was being organised for the trio.
However, the Minister for Justice, Mr Rómulo González backed the prison service's refusal, on the grounds that Valledupar jail is used only for convicted prisoners.
The reprieve was welcomed by the Dún Laoghaire TD, Mr Andrews. He said he wanted to ensure that the men were being treated humanely. "They are innocent until they are proven guilty. They are entitled to decent treatment," he said.
However, he said the three should answer charges that they were travelling on false passports.
