ELN poster at the National University of Colombia (photo: Julián Ortega Martínez on flickr)

The Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN) announced today that a Canadian citizen they have held hostage for the last six months will be released shortly, as the company he works for has withdrawn from a gold exploration project.

Canadian geologist Jernoc Wobert, explorations vice-president of Braewal Mining Corporation, was kidnapped by the ELN in January, together with two Peruvian and three Colombian citizens who were released on 15th February.

The ELN decision comes after local media announced that Braewal decided to return two out of four mining titles -effectively abandoning gold exploration projects in the Bolívar region- which the guerrilla group alleges were obtained illegally.

“This sign of good will brings forward the day we will release [Braewal's] exploration vice-president, Canadian geologist Jernoc Wobert, who has been preventatively retained by our guerrilla forces in the Mud House gold mine since 18th January,” said the statement issued by the ELN. “We maintain our decision to find a negotiated solution to this problem, and we hope it can be resolved soon so that the Canadian citizen can return to his family.”

The ELN has around 2,000 members and is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and the EU. The guerrilla has shown interest in initiating a round of peace talks like the one the government is holding with the FARC in Cuba. President Juan Manuel Santos has, however, demanded the ELN release all their hostages before starting any negotiation.

The 10 military and police officers released on Monday by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were examined by doctors Tuesday, awaiting return to their families after being held hostage for more than a decade.

Medical reports say the former hostages are in “good condition,” although most of them will remain hospitalised the next day to observe their mental and physical health, according to Caracas’ El Universal.

President Juan Manuel Santos visited the group in hospital Tuesday morning. He reported that all hostages had said “they felt good, in body and soul,” adding that some were “ready to continue fighting.”

The officers were kidnapped between 1998 and 1999. During that era, FARC kidnapped nearly 500 military and police personnel. In recent years, however, there has been a weakening in the organisation, brought about by the death of one of their top leaders.

FARC is Colombia’s main guerrilla group with a force estimated at of 9,000. The handover marks a crucial step towards the ending a civil war that has ravished the country for half a century.

El Universal also reported that the Colombian government is demanding more gestures from the guerrilla group regarding the dialogue that could put an end to almost half a century of armed conflict.

According to Univision Noticias, the president reiterated today that the release “is a step we value in a certain respect,” but insufficient.

“We want authentic examples of their true desire to end this conflict,” Santos said.

Released police officers include Forero, Carlos Duarte, César Lasso, Jorge Trujillo, Jorge Romero and Wilson Rojas. Military personnel who were released are Luis Beltrán, Luis Arcia, Robinson Salcedo and Luis Moreno.

At least four country houses were raided this morning by criminals in the locality of Carlos Keen, Luján, in the province of Buenos Aires. Twenty-seven people, including 15 children, were held in their homes while the thieves looted the houses.

Criminals cut through the fence of the La Cecilia gated community and overpowered two security guards, using them as human shields as they entered the houses. Almost everything has been taken from the hostages, from big electrical appliances to the food in the fridge.

Neighbours claim this is the fourth burglary in the last month, and are now demanding more security in the area. The gated area does not currently have security cameras, but residents doubt heightened security will stop the robberies.

“There’s a robbery every two or three days and the robberies are becoming more and more violent,” one resident told Infobae.com.

Another resident said he moved to the area because it was safe, but said he felt he had to leave.

“I love my family and this will kill us,” he said. “We cannot live here, we have to get our bags together and leave.”

There is speculation that these crimes are being committed by the same gang, but a police investigation is ongoing, headed by Pablo Viero of UFI 10 de Luján.

FARC, Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, is preparing to release ten of its hostages, paving the way for negotiations with the government.

Six police and four military hostages, some of whom have spent 14 years in captivity, are due to be released in two groups today and on Wednesday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the humanitarian group Colombians for Peace will oversee the release operation, with two helicopters provided and manned by the Brazilian military.

The helicopters landed in the Colombian town of Villavicencio, 68 miles south of Bogotá, yesterday. The rescue mission, set to leave at 8am (local time) today to release the hostages from their jungle captivity, has been delayed due to poor weather conditions.

Former Senator Piedad Córdoba has confirmed that they have the “coordinates” of the hostages’ location and that, once the weather clears, the release operation will go ahead as planned.

“Today the liberation process begins. People can rest assured that the process will happen. It is, in fact, a total success,” Córdoba told reporters.

Military operations have been temporarily suspended in the area. In the event of a successful release mission, the hostages will be transferred to Bogotá, where they will receive medical care.

Since 2008 Córdoba has been instrumental in the release of more than 20 political, police and military hostages that the FARC have held captive in exchange for the release of hundreds of their imprisoned guerrillas.

Other political and police hostages have been rescued in military operations, including the former presidential candidate and French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt in 2008.

The Colombian government has sought a low profile coverage of the release operation.

“These people who have suffered such inhuman conditions, shouldn’t have to return to a media show,” stated the foreign minister, Angela Holguín.

FARC is Colombia’s main guerrilla group with an estimate force of 9,000. If the handover takes place as planned, it will mark a crucial step towards the ending a civil war that has ravished the country for five decades.

In February, the paramilitary group proposed a dialogue with the government of Juan Manuel Santos. It has pledged to cease the abduction of civilians, a tactic that has used to finance the insurgency and pressurise the government.

Colombia’s left-wing group FARC today announced on its website that it will shortly release ten police and military prisoners, who have been captive for around ten years.

The group has also announced that it will abandon its decades-long policy of economic kidnappings. In what the group name the “Ley 002,” hundreds of hostages are held captive as a means of extortion in order to fund FARC’s conflict with the Colombian government.

The group said “Much has been said about the kidnapping of civilians for financial goals, which we, the Farc carry out to finance our struggle.” The statement continues to say that the “law” will be repealed.

The announcement comes three months after FARC killed four hostages that it had held captive for more than ten years. Widespread protests followed throughout Colombia against the rebels.

Many critics are suggesting that the move may be a sign that the group is seeking some sort of peace negotiation. Meanwhile, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has responded via Twitter, saying that the move is an “important and necessary step in the right direction” but that it is “insufficient.”

The president has refused peace talks with the group unless the group frees all captives, ends its kidnappings of civilians and ends all attacks on civilian and military targets. The president has been active in fighting FARC, having last year killed the group’s leader, Alfonso Cano.

FARC is the oldest armed group in Latin America. It was created in 1964 by Manuel Marulanda and a group of peasants, who had fled into the Colombian mountains to fight a war known as “La Violencia.” The group, financed by drug trafficking, has been cut down in size recently, but still remains a strong force of conflict, stripping as much of 1% of Colombia’s economy annually.

FARC, Colombia’s main rebel group, announced the suspension of their scheduled release operation today, due to the reputed presence of the government’s military forces in the area.

According to a press release issued on FARC’s website today, informants within Colombia’s armed forces had informed the guerrillas that the government intended to execute a military operation to release the six hostages held since November last year.

“We want to release them alive,” their internet missive states, “but it appears that the government would prefer that we handed them over to their families in coffins.”

The letter confirmed the group’s intention to release the political prisoners, Luis Alfonso Beltrán, César Augusto Laso, Carlos José Duarte, Jorge Trujillo, Jorge Humberto Romero and José Libardo Forero, all integral figures in the state armed forces.

FARC reiterated that plans to hand over the political prisoners are still afoot, provided that the government complies with the removal of all military presence in the area.

The minister of defence, Juan Carlos Pinzón, stated on a Colombian radio station today that the guerrillas “had absolutely no justification” in their deferral of the unilateral procedure. Both the government and the Red Cross deny any knowledge as to the whereabouts of the hostages.

The NGO Colombianos y Colombianas por la Paz, directed by the ex-senator of the Partido Liberal Piedad Córdoba, called on Brazil to mediate in the release operation, as they have done in previous incidents involving FARC.

The appeal comes in the wake of the government’s pronouncement last week that any such foreign intervention was “unnecessary”. However, Pinzon has stated that such an initiative has not been ruled out.

Yesterday, tens of thousands of Colombians rallied to free hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This action is in response to the guerrilla group killing four hostages who were shot during a government-led raid of a FARC den.

The Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, took part in the protest and public sector workers were allowed time off. The rally was organised by civic groups and took place in various Colombian cities including Bogota, Cali and Medellin.

Protesters shouted ‘freedom’ and ‘no more FARC’ during the public outcry.

After the protests, FARC agreed to release six of the eleven people in capture.

One of their current hostages is Luis Alfonso Beltran who has been held hostage for 13 years by the gang.

Eight inmates have been killed and four prison guards taken hostage in a prison riot involving firearms in San Cristobal. The city lies in the western state of Tachira, 650 kilometres from Caracas.

“We will begin an investigation to find out how firearms entered the jail,” said Jesus Berro, head of police.

Berro clarified that a group of inmates obtained the keys to several cells and shot eight fellow inmates.

Since negotiations started, two police officers have been released.

The incident follows a string of uprisings and gang violence within Venezuelan prisons. The prisons are overcrowded and inmates face years just waiting for their cases to be heard in court.

Prisoners often protest against the current judicial system by seizing relatives during visiting hours or taking guards as hostages.

Yesterday the Red Cross confirmed the release of Salim Sanmiguel and Guillermo Solórzano who had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The rescue operation launched last week is therefore completed.

The arrival of police offer Solórzano and army corporal Sanmiguel on Wednesday at the airport in Cali completed the rescue operation launched on 9th February.

The humanitarian mission was composed of the International Red Cross and former Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba. They were conducted to collect the hostages by helicopter of the Brazilian Air Force.

Attempts to rescue the soldiers last Sunday were detained because of the bad weather conditions. Fortunately the operation resumed on Wednesday after the approval of the Colombian Government.

In this way they completed the five unilateral releases which have been announced by FARC as a humanitarian gesture and apology to Córdoba.

The social activist was dismissed and disqualified from holding public office for 18 years by the Colombian attorney general. The agency found that the human rights defender had collaborated with FARC.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC

The Red Cross announced major Guillermo Solórzano’s and corporal Salín San Miguel’s release operation suspension. They have been kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and are part of a series of release negotiations that started last week.

The entity’s spokesperson declared the liberations “were not possible when the helicopter arrived”. The cancelation took place due to bad weather conditions in the operation area.

Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, has disqualified the release process for being an “absurd media show”. He remarked that, while freeing some hostages, FARC continued to kidnap.

Meanwhile, former Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba, requested not to lose hopes on “building a peaceful scenario”. She explained that the guerrilla has “demonstrated that dialogue and not bullets lead to results”. Córdoba mediates the releasing negotiations as requested by FARC.

During the last week, FARC have released three hostages. One of them, policeman Carlos Alberto Ocampo, was not expected to be liberated in the course of the operation. His arrival in Bogotá was announced by Córdoba.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC