The release of Clara Rojas and her three-year-old son Emmanuel, kidnapped by Colombia's largest rebel group, was around the corner, Rojas' mother told media on Tuesday in Bogota.
The rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), had said in a Dec. 9 statement that it would release Rojas, a former vice-president candidate, her son Emmanuel and former legislator Consuelo Gonzalez.
"I don't know when, in how many hours or how many minutes, they will free my daughter, but I know it is one step away," said ClaraGonzalez de Rojas, after hearing news that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez plans to speak publicly about the release on Wednesday.
Chavez will speak to reporters at 15:30 GMT in Caracas to discuss "the process of freeing the three hostages," Venezuelan Information Minister William Lara said Tuesday.
Chavez had acted as a mediator between the Colombian government and FARC, seeking the release of 45 high-profile FARC hostages for 500 FARC prisoners in the government's jails.
He was named as the mediator in August by his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe, but was stripped of the role in November. Uribe accused him of breaking protocol by directly contacting a Colombian general.
However, Chavez continued mediating the release of hostages.
Clara Rojas was kidnapped by FARC on Feb. 22, 2002, along with then presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Consuelo Gonzalez was kidnapped on Sept. 20, 2001.
Betancourt's fate has drawn international attention because shealso has French nationality. The French government has actively intervened in the case.
Source:Xinhua
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