The Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), as well as the Mexican and French Foreign Ministries Wednesday praised the Colombian government for the successful liberation of FARC hostages Pablo Emilio Moncayo and Josue Daniel Calvo. They also expressed their desire that the guerrilla organization release its remaining hostages.
OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza called the hostage liberations acts of “complete good will” on the part of the FARC and said he hoped that the release would “open the door to a true peace negotiations”, Spanish media source ADN reported.
Peace “is an important condition for the consolidation of democracy in Latin America, and Colombia has taken important steps in that regard,’ Inzula said.
The French Foreign Ministry also congratulated the Colombian government and commented that “it must not be forgotten that there are still many hostages in Colombia”.
Last March, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe criticized France for losing interest in Colombia after FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt was rescued in 2009.
A humanitarian mission headed by Senator Piedad Cordoba, along with representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Catholic Church traveled Tuesday morning in a Brazilian helicopter to collect Moncayo from the liberation point in the Colombian jungle.
Moncayo was finally reunited with his family Tuesday evening after spending 12 years as a FARC hostage. Calvo was liberated in a similar operation Sunday.