Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez
explains the plan to free Colombian hostages held by FARC guerrilla during
a news conference in Caracas Dec. 26, 2007.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
BOGOTA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Colombia agreed Wednesday to
allow a Venezuela-led mission to enter the country and pick up the three
hostages held by its largest rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC).
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said several
aircraft, including helicopters carrying Red Cross symbols, are ready to leave
from the Venezuelan border. Envoys from France, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil,
Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia will be on board, he said.
According to Chavez, the Venezuelan helicopters will
first fly to Villavicencio, a central Colombian city about 75 km south of
Bogota, before taking off to meet the rebels and the hostages at some unknown
spot.
"Let's hope that in the next few hours the freeing of
Clara Rojas, Consuelo Gonzalez and the child Emmanuel will be made reality,"
Chavez told reporters. If so, they will be able to spend the New Year with their
families, he added.
Gonzalez is a former Colombian congresswoman held by
the rebels since September 2001 and Rojas is an aide to former Colombian
presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Rojas gave birth to son Emmanuel
during captivity.
The FARC proposed freeing them in a Dec. 9 statement
in "compensation" for Chavez who had been fired by the Colombian government from
his role as a mediator in the hostage swap.
Colombian Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo, who
himself was once a hostage and managed to escape early this year, thanked Chavez
for his efforts in securing the release of the hostages.
Nevertheless, he said the helicopters to enter
Colombia should all bear the Red Cross emblem and the Colombian high
commissioner for peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, must be present during the
handover.
Relatives of the hostages and international community
on Wednesday thanked Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for allowing Venezuela to
enter its territory.
"We received the news with joy and we hope we can go
ahead tomorrow," said former Ecuadorian interior minister Gustavo Larreawho will
be part of the mission. "We thank the Colombian government for this humanitarian
gesture," he said.
"I see that things are coming together and that we
will achieve the final result of having her at home again," said Rojas' brother,
Ivan Rojas. "President Chavez spoke about a matter of hours. I think we will
travel to Villavicencio tomorrow," he added.
Chavez said he had spoken with his French counterpart
Nicolas Sarkozy about Ingrid Betancourt, who also has French citizenship and was
kidnapped along with Rojas during the presidential campaign in Colombia in
February 2002.
Chavez had urged Colombia not to try what he
described as a "clandestine rescue" and to avoid putting hostages' lives at risk
by frustrating the swap.
The FARC is seeking a swap of 45 high-profile
prisoners for some 500 FARC fighters held in Colombian government jails.
Ingrid Betancourt, French-Colombian
politician kidnapped since February 2002, is seen in a video released by Colombian
government in Bogota, Nov. 30, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
CARACAS, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez publicly proposed on Wednesday sending helicopters from several nations
to pick up the three people scheduled for release by Colombia's largest
guerrilla group FARC.
Chavez said that several aircraft, including helicopters
painted with Red Cross symbols, are ready to leave from the Venezuelan border
and land "at some place" in Colombia, possibly Villavicencio.
BOGOTA, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ingrid Betancourt, who had
been held hostage by Colombian rebels for over five years, turned 46 on Tuesday
as her family hoped this would be her last birthday in captivity.
Betancourt, a French-Colombian
politician, was kidnapped in February 2002 by Colombia's largest rebel group,
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), while she was campaigning for
Colombia's presidency.
