FARC rebel group announces release of five Colombian captives

[News_Editor]

FARC rebel group announces release of five Colombian captives

2010-12-09 01:57:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (BNO NEWS) -- Colombia's rebel group FARC on Wednesday announced in a letter sent to former Senator Piedad Cordoba that it will release five captive people in the coming days.

The FARC group informed of the eventual liberation of police officer Guillermo Solorzano, soldier Salín San Miguel, Navy soldier Henry Lopez Martinez, and the municipality officials San José del Guaviare, Marcos Vaquero y de Garzón Huila, and Armando Acuña.

The date for the liberation was not announced but the FARC rebels indicated that it will depend on the guarantees that the government will offer in order to a secure release of the captives through former Senator Cordoba.

The FARC has freed 14 captives since January 2008, all to Cordoba, a former senator close to leftist President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. The Colombian rebels hold approximately 22 soldiers and policemen and an unknown number of civilians. The longest-held individual was captured 13 years ago.

The letter also indicated that the liberation would be made as a favor to Cordoba after she was removed from her alleged collaboration and promotion of the FARC organization. Cordoba was in charge of mediating between the Colombian government and the FARC militants.

"The sanction against Piedad Cordoba is immoral and unfair, and formulated by the most biased political interests. The country should support the senator and join her in her quest for justice," the letter read. "If injustice prevails, nobody can avoid that a powerful movement will rise in Colombia in search for peace."

Authorities considered that Cordoba took advantage of her position. Cordoba was stripped from her Congress seat and disqualified from holding public office for 18 years on September 27. However, the former Senator was not charged with treason.

Prosecutors alleged that Cordoba advised the guerrilla group not to send videos of kidnapped people, but to send voice recordings of them, to adopt a better strategy in pursuit of the guerrilla's objectives, as well as promises of a closer cooperation to impose a new government through foreign support.

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