Thousands of Colombians took to the street Friday to demand the
immediate liberation of the approximately 2,800 hostages in the
country. The turn out of the fourth march this year was significantly
less massive than the previous ones in February, March and July.
The mobilization — called for by former hostage Ingrid Betancourt and promoted by most media in Colombia — attracted no more than several thousands demonstrators while earlier marches for the same cause drew several millions.
Approximately 2,800 people are held hostages in Colombia. 700 of them
are estimated to be held by the FARC, the remaining 2,100 by smaller
groups like ELN, paramilitary groups or common criminals.