Brazilian helicopters carrying mediator Piedad Cordoba and Red Cross delegates leaves the airport of Ibague Sunday morning for the last of three hostage release operations.
The mission took to the southern-Colombian jungles where it will pick up the three remaining hostages guerrilla group FARC had promised to release this week.
Until Saturday, plans were to only pick up two hostages; police major Guillermo Solorzano and soldier Salin Sanmiguel. The release of policeman Carlos Alberto Ocampo Perez was not announced until Saturday afternoon.
The hostages will be picked up at three different locations.
After securing the hostages, the helicopters will return to Ibague.
According to Cordoba, she will meet with President Juan Manuel Santos immediately after the release operation comes to and end to “talk about those still missing and possibilities to approach the FARC and ELN.”
Santos Saturday fiercely criticized the hostage releases, calling them an “absurd media show” and saying the government will reconsider allowing one-by-one releases.
Earlier this week the rebels released three of their hostages in two seperate operation.
The FARC is holding at least 13 members of the public forces hostage. The rebels want to use these high-profile hostages as political leverage. Apart from their political hostages, the guerrillas are suspected of holding hundreds of civilians hostage for extortion purposes.
