Colombia’s national government asked local governments and NGO’s to
help establish what the real number of hostages in the country is.
Last week, government statistics showing there were 125 hostages in Colombia now, received fierce criticism from País Libre, a foundation defending the rights of (former) hostages and their families. The foundation said the numbers were much higher than the government wanted to admit.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said there are approximately in between 1,000 and 1,400 “grey” cases, wherein the government has not been able to establish what their status is and whether they are abducted or not.
To come to a consensus and one broadly accepted number of hostages, the Minister asked NGOs, departments and local governments to help establish what happened to these suspected hostages.