Colombia, the Farc releases a hostage after twelve years

The Farc guerrillas released a hostage after 12 years of imprisonment: Sergeant Pablo Emilio Moncayo, one of the hostages who had long been in the hands of the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, returned to freedom thanks to a humanitarian operation he already had soldier Jose Daniel Calvo was also allowed on Sunday. The two are the last hostages that the guerrillas will unilaterally free because from now on – he said in a statement – he will only accept exchanges with detained guerrillas.

Moncayo was handed over to a Red Cross team in the forest of Caqueta, in southern Colombia; and then transported on a Brazilian military helicopter in the city of Florencia, almost 400 kilometers south of the capital Bogotà. Smiling and in good physical condition, the sergeant, who was 19 years old and carried out military service when he was captured by the guerrillas in 1997, re-embraced his family on the airport runway (including a 5-year-old sister he didn’t even know because she was born during his imprisonment).

His father, Professor Gustavo Moncayo, known as the “walker of peace”, traveled more than 3,000 kilometers on foot and traveled through 14 countries to call attention to the drama of kidnappings in Colombia. To those who asked him for a judgment on the FARC, Moncayo responded very diplomatically: “What I can say about the FARC will not change the history of Colombia”, he said, adding that the guerrilla is “a reality” that cannot be ignored “although someone is committed to doing so”.

(March 31, 2010)