The family of FARC-held hostage, Cesar Augusto Lasso, will hold a mass in celebration of his imminent release this Saturday at a Cali church.
Yesterday, the FARC named three hostages it planned to release soon — Lasso, Luis Alfonso Beltran and Carlos Jose Duarte, who have all been held for at least 13 years. Beltran is the FARC’s longest-held captive.
It follows the December 27 announcement of plans to release Jorge Trujillo Solarte, Jorge Humberto Romero and José Libardo Forero Carrero; three police officers taken hostage during a FARC attack on a station in Puerto Rico, Meta department, in 1999.
Lasso is the eldest of eight siblings and a father of three. A September 2009 video in which he appeared alive was the last communication the family received. His father, Daniel Lasso, had died of a heart attack three months earlier, having not seen his son for 11 years.
Upon hearing the announcement Lasso’s mother, Fabiola Monsalve, said “I know God has a hand in all this. . . Now I only hope that everything turns out well . . .The request to the Government is that nothing interferes in the liberation of the boys. And to the rebels, ‘free the [hostages] for the happiness and satisfaction of all'”.
Lasso’s father, Daniel Lasso, died of a heart attack June 1, 2009, having never seen his son’s release.