Colombia's high commissioner for peace Luis Carlos Restrepo told said on Wednesday that the government will extend all its guarantees to a mission to pick up Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez, high profile hostages of the nation's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
"This is a mission by the two governments with the participation of the Red Cross, which not only protects the mission with its emblems, but also will put in place the protocols that correspond to this type of humanitarian action," Restrepo told a press conference, just hours after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he had received the location of the rescue site from the FARC.
Restrepo said that Colombia's government will guarantee security for the hostage release, however, the FARC failed to handover pick up site, alleging "intense" army operations in the area.
Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, on Wednesday sent a fax to his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Araujo, detailing the guerrillas' revelations. Restrepo, Araujo and Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe, immediately met to discuss the matter.
In a December statement, the FARC had promised to release former legislator Gonzalez, former vice-presidential candidate Rojas, and Rojas's young son Emmanuel to Chavez.
Even though Chavez sent a mission with Red Cross aircraft and observers from seven nations -- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, France and Switzerland -- to central Colombian city Villavicencio on Dec. 26, the Colombian government suspended the operation on Dec. 31 after it turned out that Emmanuel was in a state orphanage, not in guerrilla hands.
The FARC kidnapped Gonzalez in the southeast Colombia department of Huila in 2001 and Rojas in southern Colombia's Caqueta in 2002, alongside running mate Ingrid Betancourt, the rebels' highest profile hostage.
Source:Xinhua
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