Freed Colombian hostages began to detail the constant fear of death they felt during years spent in FARC captivity, during a press conference in Bogota Tuesday.
“For many years we were chained to each other. That was humiliating,” said policeman Carlos Jose Duarte.
The accounts come after the hostages were reunited with their families Monday, some of which had been held for more than 14 years.
Two policemen, Jose Libardo Forero and Jorge Trujillo, managed to escape their kidnappers in 2009. They spent a month in the jungle, surviving off stale bread and two fish they caught. Eventually, the FARC found them.
“I was expecting a bullet. I put my head down so they could kill me,” said Trujillo.
He described the time following their recapture as the most difficult of his many years in captivity.
The former hostages also revealed that Luis Fernando Bonilla, kidnapped in 1999, was taken away in 2001 and was never heard from again.
Medical tests have determined that all of the men were in good health upon their release.
The hostage release has increased international pressure on the FARC to give up all of their remaining captives.
Colombian General Sergio Mantillo revealed Tuesday that he believes up to 50 soldiers who disappeared during fighting in the past 15 years may actually be in FARC captivity.