Five Colombian policemen returned to the site of their kidnapping Thursday after 14 years in FARC captivity, reported Radio Caracol.
The policemen were members of the last group of ten political hostages released by the FARC 24 days ago.
The five men were kidnapped by the FARC’s 16th, 27th and 43rd Fronts in the town of Puerto Rico, in the central Colombiam department of Meta. They were on a tour of the country following their release when they returned to the town.
One of the released hostages, Sargent Jose Libardo Forero, said that he hoped the tour would finally close the chapter of his life which began with his kidnapping.
Mayor Carlos Jose Duarte recalled the near constant violence that plagued the city when the men were taken. “Every day we received reports that the guerrillas were on one side and on the other,” said Duarte.
When the soldiers returned to Puerto Rico Thursday, they walked the streets in safety with their friends, accompanied by police and military escorts.
The FARC released four soldiers and six police in central Colombia on April 2 following months of negotiations between the guerilla group, mediators and the government.
They were the believed to be the last of security force hostages being held by the FARC, but an unknown number of civilians, thought to be in the hundreds, remain in captivity.
