In a declaration made on Sunday January 29 the ex-Senator Piedad Cordoba speaking as the figurehead of her foundation Colombians for Peace, called on private businesses in Colombia to step forward and help pay for the helicopters and pilots needed to rescue the six hostages set for imminent release by the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).
Cordoba’s thinking was inspired after Colombian Interior Minister German Vargas Lleras and Minister of Defence Juan Carlos Pinzon ruled out any outside help from an intermediary country, in this case Brazil, in the rescue of the six military hostages. And while Cordoba cannot be faulted for fighting the case of those in captivity and their families, her idea was quickly shot down and lambasted by those in charge citing that no external financing was required and that the Colombian government, on being informed of the location of the hostages, would send helicopters immediately.
Piedad Cordoba
Never far from the headlines Piedad Cordoba is a divisive character in Colombian politics having been a humanitarian exchange negotiator along with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2007 and securing the release of several hostages. Her actions were enough to get her nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 and then barred from public office for 18 years by the Inspector General’s office due to alleged FARC ties.
Foreign Mediators in FARC Hostage Releases
In the long running civil conflict in Colombia there have been various proposals by mediators. Traditionally there have been representatives of Venezuela and or Brazil have been involved in the release of hostages by the FARC undertaken deep in the Colombian jungles. That the Colombian government has declined foreign intervention has caused concern amongst the families of those military and police hostages set to be released and caused for Piedad Cordoba’s outburst.
Who Are the Hostages Set to be released?
Currently there are 11 military and police hostages held by the FARC and the majority has been held in captivity for over 12 years. For the families of soldier Luis Alfonso Beltrán Franco and the policemen Carlos José Duarte, César Augusto Lasso Monsalve, Jorge Trujillo Solarte, Jorge Humberto Romero Romero and José Libardo Forero Carrero the political wrangling will hopefully give way to actions that see them reunited once again with their loved ones.
Presently negotiations are ongoing as to where and when the hostages will be liberated. We can expect for the Colombian Red Cross to be involved. What remains unknown is the plight and number of civilian hostages remaining in captivity under inhumane conditions by the FARC.
Richard McColl - I am a freelance writer from deepest darkest London but for the past 10 years or so I have been maintaining my extended "writing break" in ...
