Hostage freed after 12 years in Colombian jungle
0 
Brazil on Tuesday helped Colombia free a man who had been kept hostage by the leftist rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for 12 years.
 |
|
Colombian soldier Pablo Emilio Moncayo (C) is hugged by members of a peace commission upon his arrival in Florencia March 30, 2010. Colombian rebels on Tuesday freed a hostage soldier they had held in secret camps for more than 12 years after guerrillas overran his army base at the height of the conflict, the Red Cross said. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo] |
Sergeant Pablo Emilio Moncayo was the hostage who spent the longest time being kept by FARC. He was kidnapped in December 1997, when he was 18 years old, along with Libio Jose Martinez Estrada, who remains a hostage.
It was the second hostage release operation Brazil participated this week. On Sunday, the country also collaborated in the release of soldier Josue Daniel Calvo, who spent 11 months in FARC captivity.
Brazil provided support to the operation by supplying the helicopter which transported the released hostage and sending the six-member military crew involved in the release.
The release mission also included Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, two Red Cross delegates and Bishop Leonardo Gomez, who represented the Catholic Church.
FARC stressed that those were the last of the unilateral releases which started last year, when six hostages were freed. According to the group, the remaining 21 hostages will only be released in exchange for FARC members who are currently in government custody.
The federal government has been fighting FARC, the largest guerrilla group operating in Colombia, for more than four decades.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments