MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Several countries involved in release of Colombian hostages

Colombia agreed on Wednesday to allow Venezuelan aircraft to land in the country to pick up three hostages held for years by leftist guerrillas, including a child born in captivity. Peace “commissioners” from five countries including Argentina's former president Nestor Kirchner will be involved in the operation.

The plan to help free the captives was proposed earlier on Wednesday by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who has been negotiating with Colombia's Marxist guerrilla leaders. Colombia's peace commissioner, Luis Carlos Restrepo, will act as the government's representative in the handover, Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo said at a televised news conference today. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said last week they would free Clara Rojas, a former vice presidential candidate, her 3-year-old son Emmanuel, and former lawmaker Consuelo Gonzales. Red Cross and Venezuelan aircraft will fly from Venezuela to the city of Villavicencio in Colombia's Meta province, south of Bogota, and then on to pick up the hostages in their jungle location. Their final destination will be an airport in Venezuela, Chavez said in a news conference earlier today. Under the plan, Venezuelan airplanes and helicopters will fly into Colombia with representatives of France, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross. Then they will pick up the three from a site not yet revealed, to be taken back to Caracas, Chavez said. Chavez will be represented in the operation by former Venezuelan interior minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin. The release "has been agreed to the tiniest detail with the FARC commanders," said Chavez, who has been involved in mediation efforts with the rebel group. "If the operation begins tomorrow (Thursday) morning, before the day is over Clara, Consuelo and Emmanuel could be here," he said. FARC announced on December 18 they would free Perdomo, Rojas -- an aide to Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, also held by FARC -- and the boy. The three are among 45 hostages whom the rebels want to exchange for some 500 FARC members held by the Colombian government, but the two sides have not agreed on conditions for the exchange. FARC has said the three captives would be handed to Chavez or a representative of his choice, but doubts over the release had grown in recent days as the three remained in rebel hands. "We are asking the Colombian government to cooperate with us," Chavez said, adding that "We have different options for a secret release but we do not want that, it is very risky." Chavez added that he hoped that all of the other hostages held by FARC, including Betancourt, would gain freedom in subsequent releases. "We want to free all these people. Thanks be to God, I have faith that another group (will be freed) and I hope that this group will include our friend Ingrid Betancourt, and I told (French President Nicolas) Sarkozy that," Chavez added. Betancourt was kidnapped along with Rojas in February 2002, and marked her 46th birthday on Christmas Day.