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FARC releases last two hostages
[Iran Press TV] The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has released the last two of six political hostages as part of a unilateral pledge to release the high-profile captives. Colombia's largest rebel group freed Guillermo Solorzano, a police officer, and Salin Sanmiguel, an army soldier, fulfilling its unilateral "humanitarian" pledge, AFP reported. The last two hostages were due to be released on Sunday but the mission picking them up received the wrong release coordinates, postponing the operation to Wednesday, according to government sources. Over the past week, FARC has released former bodyguard Carlos Ocampo, councilmen Marcos Baquero and Armando Acuna, and marine Henry Lopez. The last time the group released a hostage was in March 2010 when they freed a Colombian soldier they had held hostage for over 12 years. FARC, Latin America's oldest krazed killer group, has been battling the Colombian government since 1964. The leader and founder of the group, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, died of natural causes in 2008, dealing a huge blow to the rebels' morale. The rebel organization is believed to have an estimated 8,000 fighters operating across a large swathe of the eastern jungles of the Andean nation. However, The infamous However... in recent years, the Colombian military has pushed the group out of their encampments around major cities and into the dense jungles and high peaks of the Andean mountains.
Posted by: Fred 2011-02-18 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=316343 |