Brazilian helicopters took off from an airbase in central Colombia around 9AM Sunday to pick up the first of two hostages the FARC had promised to release.
The helicopters are now flying to a location in the south of Colombia where the rebels are expected to surrender soldier Josue Daniel Calvo.
On board of the Brazilian helicopters are Piedad Cordoba and fellow-members of peace group Colombians for Peace, members of the Red Cross and a representative from the catholic church.
According to Cordoba, who has been sending updates on the operation via her twitter page, Calvo should be on his way back to Villavicencio around noon.
The soldier is seriously injured and will immediately be transferred to a military hospital nearby, said the Colombian government’s Peace Commissioner Frank Pearl.
The release of Calvo and a second hostage, Pablo Emilio Moncayo, have been stalled for almost a year, as the government and the FARC had difficulties coming to an agreement on the conditions for a release.