VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia — Colombia’s main rebel group Monday freed what it says were its last 10 soldier and police captives, all of whom had been held in jungle prisons for at least 12 years.
The release of the six police and four soldiers highlighted efforts to seek peace talks by Latin America’s oldest and most potent guerrilla band, which has been weakened in recent years by Colombia’s U.S.-backed military.
Additional Photos
The freed captives were flown from a jungle rendezvous to this city on Colombia’s eastern plains aboard a loaned Brazilian air force helicopter emblazoned with the Red Cross logo.
They were escorted by nurses from the helicopter to waiting relatives, smiling to the gathered throng.
A few walked with difficulty and others jumped for joy on the tarmac.
One had brought along his pet capybara, a rodent native to South America’s jungles. Some wore the Colombian flag over their shoulders. All looked newly shaven.
Their loved ones were overjoyed.
“I shouted! I jumped up and down!” said Olivia Solarte when she heard her 41-year-old son, police officer Trujillo had been freed. He’d been held since July 1999.
They were united with their loved ones in a private area before the group was flown to Bogota, where other relatives were waiting.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, had announced Monday’s liberation Feb. 26 in tandem with a halt in ransom kidnappings as a revenue source.
President Juan Manuel Santos had no immediate comment on the releases.
He has said that before he would agree to a peace dialogue he wants proof the FARC, which took up arms in 1964, is truly abandoning ransom kidnapping as well as other indications it is sincere about ceasing hostilities.
Two serious government-FARC peace negotiations failed over the past three decades, and recent weeks have seen an upsurge in violence in the conflict.
The FARC killed at least 11 soldiers in a mid-March attack in Arauca near the Venezuelan border and the military responded with two precision bombings on rebel camps that killed more than 60 insurgents.
The rebels have in recent years suffered their worst battlefield setbacks ever, beginning when Santos was defense minister from 2006-2009 and thanks to billions in U.S. military assistance and training.
Their main source of funding is the cocaine trade and military pressure has made holding kidnap victims increasingly difficult for the FARC.
It is not known how many ransom kidnap victims the insurgency holds but authorities say they number at least six, including four Chinese oil workers seized last June.
The citizens’ watchdog group Fundacion Pais Libre maintains a list of at least 400 people the FARC kidnapped or has otherwise held against their will since 1996 who were never freed.
The watchdog group doesn’t expunge a name from its records until the person is released or a body is found.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.