The family of liberated FARC hostage Pablo Emilio Moncayo plan to follow their relative’s lead and leave Colombia, because of continued death threats.
The former hostage’s father, Professor Gustavo Moncayo, who campaigned for his son’s release throughout his twelve years in captivity, announced Monday that “with heavy hearts we are going to leave the country and we are looking for another one that will protect us.”
Professor Moncayo said he will report to the Colombian Prosecutor General’s Office “intimidating” phone calls, which threaten to “finish off the family, starting with the most dear people.”
According to the Moncayo family, they have received threats of planting bombs in the places the family is known to frequent. “They know what my daughters’ schedules are, they know where they work,” said the former FARC hostage’s father.
“They just won’t leave us alone,” said Nohora Moncayo, Pablo Emilio’s sister.
Pablo Emilio Moncayo fled Colombia in August after receiving multiple death threats. The soldier was released in March after twelve years in captivity. He came under fire following his release because he refused to thank then-President Alvaro Uribe for aiding in his liberation, on the grounds that to do so would have made him “a hypocrite.”