All ten of the FARC-held hostages will be released in the first recovery operation, Gloria Cuartas, spokesperson for hostage mediators Colombians for Peace, told local media Monday.
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Cuartas’ announcement contradicts the original plan to release the hostages five at a time in separate operations on Monday and Wednesday, announced previously by Colombians for Peace and the Red Cross.
Helicopters provided by the Brazilian Air Force left the central Colombian city of Villavicencio for the hostage recovery site Monday morning with hostage mediators and Red Cross representatives.
If the recovery is a success, the hostages will be taken taken back to Villavicencio for medical treatment and will later be transferred to a military medical hospital in Bogota.
The hostages are made up of four soldiers and six police who have been held by Colombia’s largest guerrilla group for more than 12 years. They are the last security force prisoners being held by the FARC, though an unknown number of civilians remain in captivity.
Last February the FARC announced its intention to release all hostages and discontinue the practice of kidnapping. The Colombian government has applauded the move but said more concessions by the FARC would be needed to start peace talks.