Posted on 03/07/2008 10:06:50 AM PST by ElCapitanAmericaLives
FARC to release hostages in Ecuador
QUITO, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has agreed to release at least 12 hostages in Ecuador in early March, Ecuadoran Internal and Foreign Security Minister Gustavo Larrea said Thursday.
"Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and French President Nicolas Sarkozy separately knew about Ecuador's mediation to liberate 12 hostages, including French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt," Larrea told local television.
FARC has agreed to free former Colombian presidential candidate Betancourt, three U.S. advisors, four policemen, three Colombian soldiers and an Ecuadoran citizen, Larrea said.
"We immediately passed that information to the French embassy."
The minister said he told Uribe in December that Ecuador was going to work for the release of the 12 hostages.
Larrea said he had spoken to FARC spokesman Edgar Devia alias "Raul Reyes", who was killed Saturday in a Colombian military attack, and formally asked him for the release of Betancourt and the 11 other hostages.
Reyes responded weeks afterward that FARC would free them in Ecuador between March 3 and 14.
Story confirmed here at; http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/?p=12664 (in Spanish)
Well, half-way to ‘later’; rather than sooner. Good for hostages; is they are good on their word.
hmmmm....Colombian Military Kills Another Senior FARC Leader: Iván Ríos
You'd think they would use that as an excuse to pull out of the negotiation to release. This seems like an olive branch to Columbia that says "please don't hit us like that again."
really hope thats true
Good analysis. However, I think they know they’ll get no mercy from Uribe.
I think they’re desperately trying to appeal to the international community. Notice how they are also going to release the US hostages, the last thing they want is the US to play a more direct role in this.
With Betancourt, they probably hope that Sarkozy can create pressure to give them a break. We’ll see, but they are definitely a wounded animal at this point.
Whether you're buying uranium on the black market to build your own dirty bomb, or just to sell it back into the black market for a quick profit, you usually don't want the fact to become public knowledge.
However, the latest reports that I've read keep mentioning that the laptop found shows links to Chavez, and not the Ecuadorian connection. Was the Ecuador connection inaccurate, or did they find ties to both?
Regardless, I think this whole episode shows that Correa will end up being just as much the enemy as Chavez is. I read that when asked to comment on Chavez' remark about Bush being "the devil" at the UN, Correa retorted that he was "insulting the devil".
I think the answer is both.
There is a lot of correspondence related to Chavez, and a fair amount relating to Ecuador too. I think there was a picture with an Ecuadorian official.
Uribe today in front of all the presidents from Latin America also said they have evidence that FARC contributed to his presidential campaign. There are fireworks today at the “Cumbre de Rio”.
I am sure US is playing more than bit role inthis. Was reported yesteday that it was a phone call from Cahvex to Reyes congraulating Reyes on the release of the last hostages that led the Colombians to find out where Reyes was hiding out. That is why Hugo is so pissed, he knows our elctronic intel is tapping his calls, and tracing the locations of the people he is calling. Hope he calls some more of his FARC buddies. “sureshot’ the leader of the group is reported ill and hiding in Venezulea under Chavez’s protection.
There are conflicting accounts about the “phone call”. Officially the Colombians are saying they basically found his location by paying off informants.
Probably the same way they found and killed the other FARC leader today. They have infiltrated their organization. Lots of lessons learned here for us with regards to Al-Qaeda.
Maybe they are afraid we will finance a new Pepe’s to give the Colombian army a rest.
Not only is that rare in Columbian politics (or all of Latin America for that matter), if there's a hint of corruption, the press and world opinion will do the same thing to him that they did to Fujimori when he was fighting Shining Path.
I think he's a good man and can bring good things to a cursed nation.
Nothing like witnessing the death of your leaders while in a “safe sanctuary”, to focus your attention on behaving...
There should be NO safe sanctuary for murderous outlaws — in the jungles of South America, mountains of Pakistan or the Mosques of Mecca...
Those on Jihad — whether religious or political, should not expect to be safe ANYWHERE.....most especially in their beds.
well said!
Well, the president of Ecuador has said this report is false, so sadly no good news on the release of the hostages.
http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/?p=12664
I would like to add, is the American public aware that this group is holding American hostages? It would be nice if the media would mention this once in a while, I find it completely unacceptable that our citizens are being held in the jungle and few are even aware of this.
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