A Colombian man has admitted the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla entrusted a boy to him in order to provide medical care for the child, the Colombian prosecutor's office said Wednesday.
Jose Cristancho, who handed the boy over to Colombia's Family Welfare Institute (CIBF), admitted the child "does not belong to his family," a spokesman for the Guavire provincial prosecutor's office said.
"The boy Juan David Gomez may be the son of kidnapped Clara Rojas," and whose name is Emmanuel, said the spokesman.
Cristancho said he decided to give the boy away to authorities in exchange for protection for him and his family.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said Monday that Emmanuel was not being held by the FARC and a boy under the care of the CIBF might turn out to be him.
He made the remarks while waiting for the liberation of three FARC hostages in Villavicencio, which provoked immediate attacks from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who called it a "smoke screen" to impede the hostages' release.
Inhabitants of El Retorno in Guavire province said Cristancho arrived with his family six months ago.
Cristancho at first told medical officials that the boy belonged to an indigenous family, which was not the truth and can be seen from the child's features, said Colombia's high commissioner for peace Luis Carlos Restrepo.
Clara Rojas' relatives have been contacted for DNA tests to determine whether the boy is Emmanuel.
Meanwhile, the FARC denied the boy in the CIBF could be Emmanuel as the Colombian government has declared, according to a report by the Anncol news agency, that publishes FARC news.
"Who can believe that the FARC, that does not acknowledge any state institution, will confide one of their children to the CIBF," the FARC said in an on-line statement.
FARC rebels on Monday postponed again the release of three hostages, including Clara Rojas, Emmanuel and former legislator Consuelo Gonzalez.
President Uribe said the repeated delay by the FARC to hand over the hostages was just because they do not have Emmanuel.
The FARC stated that the lack of security prevented the hostage release at an undetermined site in the Colombian jungle, as the Colombian military intensified operations in that region.
Source: Xinhua
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