COLOMBIA - VENEZUELA
Hostages arrive in Caracas
Thursday 10 January 2008
Freed by Colombian FARC rebels, Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez have landed in Venezuela's capital Caracas where they have been reunited with their families.
Special Report Ingrid Betancourt rescuedThursday 10 January 2008
By FRANCE 24 with news agenciesColombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have released two female hostages, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday, after speaking to the women.
"I spoke to the hostages a few minutes ago. They are free. I told them both, 'Welcome to life'," Chavez told reporters at his presidential palace in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
Clara Rojas, 44, and former Colombian lawmaker Consuelo Gonzalez, 57, held by the leftist rebels for more than five years in the Amazon jungle camps were released in a deal brokered by Chavez.
The former hostages were picked up by Venezuelan helicopters earlier on Thursday, and arrived in Santo Domingo, Venezuela shortly before 9pm (GMT+1). They then flew to the capital city Caracas where they landed an hour later.
The International Red Cross confirmed the release of Rojas and Gonzalez.
“It’ll be a bit of a recovery for President Chavez,” Steven Ambrus, Newsweek correspondent in Caracas told FRANCE 24. “After supporting the FARC in the last epic to release the hostages a couple of weeks ago and getting burned, he badly needs a successful operation here to save face. He needs to show he has influence with the leftist group and that his mediation efforts can finally achieve results. He’s under a lot of pressure.”
Chavez brokered a deal with the FARC late last year to obtain the release of the two hostages as well as Rojas' young son. But the mission failed after the Colombian government revealed that the child had been moved from the jungle and was in foster care. DNA tests subsequently confirmed the revelation.
The release of the two Colombian politicians has also raised hopes for Ingrid Betancourt and other hostages currently held by FARC.
This is the first major breakthrough in years towards peace between the Colombian government and the Marxist rebels. According to Ambrus “it will certainly be a triumph for Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. He has been accused of impeding hostage liberation. He’s received a lot of criticism from the families, and I think if he can pull this off he’ll show that he’s actually been sincere in wanting a release for the hostages.”
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Images
Hostage Clara Rojas speaks on the telephone as she is released by the FARC in the Colombian jungle earlier on Thursday.
Images
Hostage Consuelo Gonzalez (left) meets Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba as she is released by the FARC earlier on Thursday.
