Hopes high for FARC hostages

An international team led by a former Colombian senator who is acting as a mediator launched a rescue mission on Monday in an effort to free five hostages who have been held for various years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Piedad Córdoba, a former leftist lawmaker who was stripped of her parliamentary post last year, said she was confident that the FARC would release all it hostages by June. FARC rebels are reportedly holding about 20 members of the country's security forces, and hopes their release will paved the way for peace talks with President Juan Manuel Santos' conservative government.

Córdoba, who was kicked out of the Senate after prosecutors determined last year that she has close contacts with the guerrillas, left for Brazil on Monday where she was to pick up the helicopters and pilots who will help in the liberation of the five at different locations. The International Red Cross is coordinating the rescue mission.

Secret handovers

"We are going to Brazil, Villavicencio, Florencia and our last day will be on Sunday in Ibagué," she told reporters on Monday before departing for the neighboring country. The actual times and handovers are being kept secret as part of the conditions with the rebels.

The Bogotá daily El Espectador on Sunday quoted a statement issued by FARC leaders calling on Santos "to take advantage of the opportunity" of the hostages' release and initiate peace talks. The president has said on several occasions that the door was open to negotiations on the condition that the FARC release all its hostages, lay down its arms, and stop its campaign of terrorism.

The Marxist rebels, who form South America's oldest insurgency, have been dealt a series of blows in recent years, including the loss of its top leaders during surprise attacks by government forces at different camps. In 2008, Manuel Tirofijo Marulanda, the founder of the present-day FARC, died of a heart attack.

"With these liberations, I am sure that we will embark on a path to peace in Colombia and by the middle of the year we will have everyone free and safe," Córdoba said in a message sent to her supporters on Twitter.

The five hostages that were set to be released are Police Major Guillermo Solórzano, captured in 2007; Army Corporal Salín Sanmiguel, seized in 2008; Navy officer Henry López, taken last May; and councilors Marcos Baquero and Armando Acuña, both held since 2009.

According to the International Red Cross, Baquero will be the first to be freed on Wednesday in Villavicencio, the Bogotá daily El Tiempo reported on Monday.