Colombia’s second largest rebel group, the ELN, plans to release a Canadian miner the rebels had kidnapped in January, said one of the members who took part in the release operation of two German hostages held by the same group Friday.
“They told us that they didn’t have him in the area [where the humanitarian mission went to pick up the Germans] but that they wished to release him,” former Inspector General Jaime Bernal told reporters.
The Canadian Jernoc Wobert, an employee of the Canadian mining company Geo Explorer, was kidnapped on January 18 in the municipality of Norosi, Bolivar together with two Peruvians and two Colombians while working.
MORE: ‘ELN’ kidnaps 3 foreigners, 2 Colombians in northern Colombia
While his colleagues were released last month, the ELN decided to keep the Canadian hostage.
After years of not kidnapping foreigners, the ELN captured the Canadian and two Germans in two separate kidnapping operations in November and January.
PROFILE: ELN
Wobert is the only known foreign hostage in hands of Colombian rebel groups.
FACT SHEET: Colombia kidnapping statistics