The two helicopter pilots who were released Sunday, 19 days after being taken hostage by the FARC, said they hoped for an end to all kidnapping in Colombia.
In an interview with Venezuelan television network Telesur, Alejando de Jesus Ocampo said, “God forbid that this happens again to any Colombian.”
“Being held hostage is something you don’t wish on anyone,” his fellow ex-hostage Juan Carlos Alvarez added.
The two men said the FARC treated them well, but that “captivity is captivity.”
The helicopter pilots admitted to having been afraid because “you don’t know what’s going to happen to you.”
The two men were abducted on July 10 after being forced to land in a FARC-controlled area in the southwestern Cauca department following technical difficulties.
The FARC announced they would release the two on July 25 and surrendered the pilots to the Red Cross on Sunday.
The rebels charged that the helicopter had been flying surveillance over a local area from the towns of Argelia, to Guapi and Timbiqui in Cauca — for over two months.
