The six hostages that are waiting to be released by the FARC could be
free in twelve days, opposition senator and mediator Piedad Córdoba
said Monday after meeting Colombia’s Interior and Justice Minister
Fabio Valencia Cossio.
Córdoba met with the Minister to discuss the security of the people taking part in the mission and reiterated that the Colombian army will not be involved in any way. Brazilian military helicopters will be used to pick up the hostages and take them from the jungle.
Yves Heller of the Colombian chapter of the Committee of the Red Cross would not comment on the possible time schedule.
But according to Córdoba everything is now ready for the release. “Everything we needed to do within the process now practically is done and we ratified that there’s agreement that there will be no international observer present,” the senator said.
The foreign observer was one of the obstacles for the release. The FARC had demanded a foreign guarantor, something the Colombian government immediately rejected. Instead Bogotá proposed to let the Vatican provide an observer, something that was widely considered unacceptable by the FARC.
Brazil is now preparing the helicopters for the mission. The helicopters will take the hostages from the Colombian jungle and fly them to Brazil.
