Colombia’s Deputy Defense Minister accepted the FARC‘s postponement of the release of ten hostages held by the group, said local media Sunday.
In a meeting in Bogota Sunday, Deputy Defense Minister Jorge Enrique Bedoya said he lamented the delay but hoped the FARC would follow through with the release on the new dates.
The minister’s comments were made shortly after Colombia’s largest guerrilla group the FARC announced they were pushing back the release date from March 31 and April 1 to April 2 and April 3.
According to the agreed protocol, the FARC must inform the Colombian government of the location for the release before March 31. The government must then halt military operations in the chosen area.
The hostages are made up of ten police and soldiers, some of whom have been held by the FARC for as long as 14 years.